18th agosto 2011 / The Foxy Knoxy archives

It's the story that will not go away - Meredith Kircher, British student was murdered at a college in Perugia a couple of years ago, some evidence exists but the story is not clear, there are a number of protagonists, suggestions of sexual games, an excellent nickname of the currently "guilty" female - "Foxy Knoxy" a lot of international attention, a movie, and the Italian media loves it.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-13930073

Foxy Knoxy (23 yo) and Rafaelle Sollecito (26 yo) are appealing their convictions of 26 and 25 years, respectively. The case is in Rome right now and there is a huge amount of media attention with daily updates.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-13823473

From one article

From the start of the highly publicised murder trial in 2009, Amanda Knox was the focus of intense media scrutiny. But who is she?

Knox, whose pretty face maintained its carefree smile throughout her trial, was the ideal female suspect for an Italian murder - "the face of an angel - but the eyes of a killer," as one (Italian) commentator described her.

From the images of her kissing her co-accused and erstwhile boyfriend, to her cartwheels in the police station, Knox's seemingly innocent insouciance contrasted gratingly with the gory crime and general preconceptions of what a murderer should look like.

'Half demon'
The only explanation, according to prosecutors and feverish media coverage, was that Knox, now 23, was that most-loved of villains - the middle-class monster whose appearance hides a diabolical soul.

One lawyer was reported as accusing Knox of being "dirty inside and out" and described her as "half Maria Goretti and half demon".

The lawyer added: "Who is the real Amanda Knox? Is it the one we see before us here, simple water and soap, the angelic St Maria Goretti?"

"Or is she really a she-devil, a diabolical person focused on sex, drugs and alcohol, living life to the extreme and borderline - is this the Amanda Knox of 1 November 2007?"

Maria Goretti was a teenager made a saint by the Roman Catholic Church after she was murdered during an attempted rape.

Continue reading the main story
“
Start Quote

The Amanda I know... lives a carefree life. Her only thought is the pursuit of pleasure”

Raffaele Sollecito
As the trial unfolded the two Amanda Knoxes vied for acceptance: the hapless student championed by her family and defence lawyers; and the manipulative hedonist described by the prosecution.

And despite her plea in court - "I'm afraid of having the mask of a murderer forced on to my skin" - the latter always seemed to gain the upper hand.

Details soon began emerging of Amanda's private life - her "Foxy Knoxy" nickname, the drug-taking and claims she slept with several men after she arrived in Italy.

In letters from his jail cell, co-defendant Raffaele Sollecito wrote: "The Amanda I know... lives a carefree life."

'Party girl'
"Her only thought is the pursuit of pleasure," he wrote to his father

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-11823193

It rumbles ever on...I won't comment on the legal system in Italy at this time, as I do not have experience of this, and it does not seem that different from other countries systems. One thing however is the uniforms - the guards and the police all wear absolutely excellent uniforms. There are a number of quasi-independent police forces in Italy:

Carabinieri: Police/military police. Sort of normal police but also act as the military police

Polizia Municipale: local police

Guardia di Finanzia: financial guards for moving money

Corpo Forestale dello Stato: Forest police - surprisingly prominent, but there are a lot of national parks and they have a wide remit

Random others: Polizia Penitenzieria - jail, Guardia Costiera - coast guard, Polizia di Stato - traffic cops

I have asked about the reason for so many cops and the general explanation is that there is someone to police the police. The society has improved in the last 20 years, but there is still a lot of inherent corruption (hello Berlusconi, hello Mafia) and suspicion, so I guess there needs to be independent bodies so that control can be established.

However, the important thing is the uniforms. Wow they are so good. The current themes are a) guns, often in white, and b) lots of leather, always in white, especially belts. Sunglasses goes without saying.

And there's a picture of Foxy Knoxy with some tooled up police - awesome. In fact, the article that I took that picture from was quite interesting

http://sylverblaque.wordpress.com/2011/08/03/amanda-knox-convicted-of-cultural-difference/


Amanda Knox: Convicted of Cultural Difference?
Posted on August 3, 2011
What if American exchange student Amanda Knox wasn’t really convicted of murder?

What if she was sentenced to 26 years in an Italian jail for the crime of being different?





That’s what author Nina Burleigh investigates in her book “The Fatal Gift of Beauty.”





Says Burleigh, in a Fox News interview, “It was a misunderstanding between Italian police and this young woman who…was kind of a hippie. They didn’t really know what to make of her. She was so different from how young Italian women are supposed to behave…”

Of course we will never know, but the press will enjoy it however it goes. Ciao for now.