Amanda Knox Retrial Ordered

Italy's highest court ordered a retrial for Amanda Knox and a former boyfriend in the murder of Knox's roommate.

Knox and ex-boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito were convicted in the murder of 21-year-old British student Meredith Kercher, then released amidst widespread criticism of the prosecution in the case. 

Knox, who had been studying in Italy, became a media sensation because of her photogenic looks and allegations from her American supporters that she was being railroaded by an overseas court. Tabloids dubbed her "Foxy Knoxy."

The 25-year-old was the subject of a Lifetime movie starring Hayden Panatierre and is the author of an upcoming memoir, "Waiting to Be Heard." Knox was scheduled to give her first interview, to ABC's News Diane Sawyer, on April 30, the day the book is scheduled to be released.

Knox and Sollecito were accused of killing Kercher during a drug-fuelled sexual assault in 2007. Kercher was found with a deep gash to her throat and 40 other wounds, in the Perugia, Italy, apartment she and Knox shared, according to Reuters.

Knox was sentenced to 26 years in prison and Sollecito to 25. But when forensic investigators challenged evidence in their convictions, they were released after four years in prison, and Knox returned to the U.S.

On Tuesday, Italy's Court of Cassation accepted a request from prosecutors and Kercher family lawyers for a retrial, which will be held at a court in Florence.

Knox's lawyer, Luciano Ghirga, said it was unclear if she would return to Italy after the trial, according to Reuters. It was also unclear whether the U.S. would extradite her.

A third suspect, Ivorian Rudy Guede, was convicted and sentenced to 16 years in prison. He is now the only person serving time for the murder, although prosecutors say he could not have committed it alone.

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