Amanda Knox Acquitted Of Murder, Sexual Assault

Italian jury finds the American student did not kill her roommate

Cue the book deal. 

American student Amanda Knox has been acquitted by an Italian appeals court of murdering and sexually assaulting her roommate Meredith Kercher. 

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Knox has been serving a 26-year sentence after Kercher was found stabbed to death in the apartment the two shared in Perugia, Italy some four years ago.

 "I'm paying with my life for things that I didn't do," Knox told the courtroom earlier Monday. 

Knox's former boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito, who was serving a 25-year sentence, was also found not guilty.

Knox broke down in tears as the verdict was read, according to the Associated Press. 

The case became a cable news fixture, in part because the sensational accusations of a drug fueled sexual assault and murder were leveled at the clean-cut looking Knox. 

Moreover, the lack of strong physical evidence linking Knox to the crime scene and the heavy-handed interrogation methods employed by the Italian police added credence to the charges that this was a gross miscarriage of justice. 

An independent review found that police had made significant errors in their investigation that threw into question the traces of Knox's DNA that were discovered on a knife and bra clasp. 

For cable news watchers there was another silver lining. The Knox verdict also allowed for a few moments of respite in the wall-to-wall coverage of Michael Jackson doctor Conrad Murray's manslaughter trial. 

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