Meredith Kercher has been forgotten, says family

‘Brutal death’ of student Meredith Kercher has been forgotten as Amanda Knox appeal against murder conviction reaches end Members of Meredith Kercher’s family has said that the “brutal death” of the British student has been forgotten as the appeal by Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito against their murder conviction reaches a climax. “I think Meredith has been hugely forgotten,” said Kercher’s sister Stephanie during a hastily called and occasionally chaotic press conference in Perugia on Monday with Kercher’s mother Arline and brother Lyle. “Everyone needs to remember the brutality of what happened and everything she went through, the fear and the terror and not knowing why.” “It is very hard to find forgiveness at this time,” said Lyle Kercher. “Four years is a very long time but on the other hand it is still raw.” Defending the display of gruesome crime scene photographs in court, he added: “It was a way to reinforce how horrific it really was. You would find it hard to forgive if that was your sibling.” But as they vouched for the soundness of the convictions, Kercher’s sister Stephanie also suggested the family would accept the court’s decision if it overturned them when two judges and six jurors return their verdict later this evening. “If they decide on the information available to them and not on the media hype, justice will be hopefully be done,” said Stephanie. “Whichever way that will be we will have to deal with this evening.” Asked about the PR campaign organised by the Knox family to clear their daughter Amanda, Lyle said “any loving parent” would have done the same, but added that the Kercher’s family lawyer, Francesco Maresca, who has been sustaining the prosecution’s case during the trials, was “constantly battling against a very large PR machine”. Asked if she would “reach out” to the Knox family if their daughter was acquitted, Arline Kercher said: “I don’t know really. We need to find out what happened.” Before the press conference, Maresca ruled out the possibility of tension in the court room when the Kerchers and the Knox family find themselves shoulder to shoulder this evening to hear the sentence. “It is more the wait that creates tension, and the Kerchers are more interested in remembering their daughter outside the courtroom. Their attention is on that.” Arline was the most adamant of the family members that Italian justice had performed well. “I think it is quite good,” she said, pointing out that the trial judge had produced a 400-page document giving the reasons for the conviction. “In England you don’t have that,” she said, adding that evidence had been found against Knox and Sollecito beyond the disputed DNA evidence. Meredith’s death had left a “huge absence,” for the Kerchers, said Lyle. “It is as if she went on an extended break and we haven’t seen her come back as yet.” Meredith Kercher Amanda Knox Italy Europe Tom Kington guardian.co.uk

Posted by on October 3, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.