Family of the murdered Meredith Kercher say it is ‘difficult to understand’ how the show ‘serves any purpose’
: ANVE
Amanda Knox has been accused of continually profiting from the murder of her British room-mate Meredith Kercher as filming gets underway in Italy for a new TV series about the brutal killing.
Shooting began in the hilltop town of Orvieto, north of Rome, last week and is expected to continue at several locations this week in Perugia, the mediaeval town in Umbria, where Kercher died in November 2007.
Ms Knox, who was definitively acquitted of Kercher’s murder and sexual assault charges in 2015, is one of the producers of the eight-part series to be aired by Hulu, the US streaming service owned by Disney.
The series, also backed by Alt Ending Productions – the production company run by Bill Clinton’s former intern Monica Lewinsky – and stars 27-year-old actress, Grace Van Patten, in the lead role.
Hulu has said the series is “based on the true story of how Knox was wrongfully convicted for the murder of her roommate, Meredith Kercher, and her 16-year odyssey to set herself free”.
: TIZIANA FABI
But Kercher’s sister, Stephanie, questioned the purpose for the new series in a heartfelt statement issued by the family on Sunday.
“Meredith will always be remembered for her own fight for life, and yet in her absence, her love and personality continue to shine,” she said.
“Our family has been through so much and it is difficult to understand how this serves any purpose.”
Francesco Maresca, the lawyer representing the Kercher family, went further and accused Knox of repeatedly seeking to profit from the victim’s murder.
“On the one hand Amanda says the trial created so much suffering for her but then she tries to have it all – the fame and the money,” Mr Maresca said.
: KAYLA OADDAMS
“She continues to make money from it. This time she has no qualms about doing it in Perugia, one of the least appropriate places to return to 17 years since Meredith’s death.
“Knox is only interested in the profits she continues to make from an affair on which she should be silent.”
In a crime that made headlines around the world, Kercher, 21, was found dead after being stabbed multiple times.
During the trial prosecutors insisted that her murder was the outcome of rough group sex involving the British student, Knox and her then Italian boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito.
While Ms Knox was ultimately cleared of the murder and assault charges, a Florence court in June this year upheld a previous three-year conviction for slandering Congolese bar owner, Patrick Lumumba, who she wrongly implicated in the murder after her arrest in 2007.
Ms Knox’s lawyer, Carlo dalla Vedova, could not be reached for comment on Sunday.
: ITALIAN POLICE
But Ms Knox has often used social media to highlight the challenges she faced when she emerged from prison and announced her involvement in the Hulu production on International Women’s Day on X saying: ‘’I’m excited to be partnering with some kickass women to bring my story to life.’’
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