Family Sees 'Disappointed, Upset' Amanda Knox in Jail After Conviction
PERUGIA, Italy, Dec. 5, 2009— -- Amanda Knox is sitting in jail "extremely disappointed [and] upset" after being convicted of murdering her British roomate, Meredith Kercher, Knox's mother said after her family's jailhouse visit today.
Meanwhile, the day after the court conviction, Kercher's family told an assembled press throng they are relieved and satisfied by the guilty verdicts, but not exultant.
"We're pleased that we got decision but it's not a time for celebration," said Lyle Kercher, Meredith Kercher's brother. "[It is] not a moment of triumph."
"At the end of the day, we're gathered here because our sister was brutally murdered and taken away from us," he continued. "Of course, there were two very young people who have been sentenced [Friday] to a very long time behind bars."
A jury found Knox, 22, and her former boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito, 25, guilty in the killing of Kercher on Nov. 1, 2007. It sentenced Knox to 26 years in prison and Sollecito to 25.
Knox's father, Curt Knox, mother Edda Mellas and three of Amanda Knox's sisters arrived at the Capanne prison today to visit Amanda after being unable to speak to her immediately after the verdict Friday.
"Amanda, like the rest of us, is extremely disappointed, upset about the decision; we're all in shock," Mellas told reporters outside the jail, just after visiting her daughter. "We're all heartened by the support, not only from the people of Perugia, many Italians, all over. People from all over the world have been sending us messages of support all through the night.
"We told her she's going to get out of here, [but] it's going to take a little longer," said Mellas, as her eyes welled up with tears.
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Prosecutors claimed Knox committed the crime while in a rage over being criticized by Kercher.
When asked if the Kercher family was satisfied with the guilty verdicts, Meredith Kercher's mother, Arline Kercher, said," If the evidence has been presented, then yes, you have to agree with that verdict.
"At the end of the day," she added, "you have to go on the evidence because there's nothing else."
The Kerchers were awarded roughly $6.5 million in compensation for the murder, but Lyle Kercher said that the figure was largely a symbolic one that reflected the "severity and gravity of the case."
"Money will never bring anything or change anything," he said.
Family members said they are aware they will have to relive the pain of Kercher's killing throughout the appeals process.
"We were fully prepared for that fact," said Kercher's sister, Stephanie. "We have to handle it as it happens."
