The “MD Perugia” case is a shorthand for the murder of Meredith Kercher, a British exchange student in Perugia, Italy. In November 2007, Kercher was found deceased in her apartment, sparking a legal case that captured global attention. The investigation and subsequent trials spanned nearly eight years and involved multiple convictions and eventual exonerations.
The Crime and Key Individuals
Meredith Kercher, a 21-year-old student from the University of Leeds, was in Perugia for an exchange program. On November 2, 2007, she was discovered fatally stabbed in her locked bedroom. The initial investigation centered on her American roommate, Amanda Knox, and Knox’s Italian boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito.
Another individual, Rudy Guede, an Ivorian immigrant, was also implicated. Guede’s bloody fingerprints were found at the scene, connecting him directly to the crime. Knox and Sollecito maintained their innocence, stating they were not present at the apartment during the murder.
Investigation and Initial Trials
The investigation resulted in the arrests of Knox and Sollecito. The prosecution’s case in the first trial relied on contested forensic evidence. This included a kitchen knife from Sollecito’s apartment, alleged to contain Kercher’s DNA on the blade and Knox’s DNA on the handle.
Another piece of evidence was a bra clasp belonging to Kercher, collected from the crime scene 46 days after the murder and said to have Sollecito’s DNA on it. These pieces of evidence were challenged by the defense, who argued they were the result of contamination. Despite these challenges, the trial concluded with murder convictions for Knox and Sollecito in December 2009. In a separate trial, Rudy Guede was found guilty of the sexual assault and murder of Kercher in October 2008.
Appeals and Final Verdicts
The legal process for Knox and Sollecito involved a series of appeals. In 2011, their initial convictions were overturned after independent forensic experts reviewed the DNA evidence. The experts concluded the genetic material on the knife was inconclusive and the bra clasp had likely been contaminated. This led to their release after nearly four years in prison.
The case continued when Italy’s highest court, the Court of Cassation, nullified the acquittal in 2013 and ordered a new trial. This retrial in Florence resulted in a re-conviction for both Knox and Sollecito in 2014. However, the case concluded in March 2015, when the Court of Cassation fully exonerated them.
The final ruling declared them innocent, citing “stunning flaws” in the police investigation and a lack of biological evidence connecting them to the murder. The court determined there would be no further trials. Rudy Guede’s conviction was the only one upheld for the murder of Meredith Kercher; he was released from prison in 2021 after serving approximately 13 years of a 16-year sentence.