Lawsuits Fly in Amanda Knox Murder Trial

By: Carlin DeGuerin Miller
Topics: Daily Blotter

(AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

U.S. murder suspect Amanda Knox arrives in court in Perugia, Italy on Monday, Nov. 30, 2009.

PERUGIA, Italy (CBS/AP) When Amanda Knox's parents arrived in Italy last Friday to support their daughter in her final days on trial for the November 2007 murder of her former roommate, Meredith Kercher, they discovered they were being sued by Italian police.

Sperately in civil proceedings they also learned that the Kercher family is seeking $36 million in damages for their daughter's murder.

(AP Photo/Stefano Medici)

Photo: From left, Chris Mellas, Edda Mellas and Curt Knox.

The Italian police filed a defamation suit against Knox's parents saying they allegedly accused them of beating their daughter during her interrogation.

According to the Italian news agency ANSA the defamation investigation stems from a June 2008 interview Curt Knox and Edda Mellas gave to Britain's Sunday Times in which the couple accused the police of abusing Knox both physically and verbally during the course of their November 5, 2007 interrogation.

They told the Sunday Times that Knox told them she "was hit in the back of the head by a police officer with an open hand at least twice".

Edda Mellas told AP Television News on Saturday that she and her ex-husband found the timing of the lawsuit suspect. "It is odd that the timing is coming out now, five days before the end of the trial," she said. "This is supposed to be something that happened over a year ago."

The police officers who were present at the interrogation apparently decided to pursue legal action as early as September 2008, according to ANSA which reported that the lawsuit is being brought by an unspecified number of Perugia police officers who deny mistreating Knox. Defamation through the press carries a sentence of six months to three years in prison and a fine, although a person with no prior police record is unlikely to serve time, according to reports.

Separately in civil procedures on Friday November 27th, Francesco Maresca said that the Kercher family is requesting about $37 million in damages from the three poeple who are accused of the November 2007 killing, should they be convicted. Amanda Knox, of Seattle, co-defendant Raffaele Sollecito and Ivorian Rudy Hermann Guede, who was convicted in a separate trial, are named in the suit. This would mean that Knox could be liable for about $12 million if she is found guilty in her criminal trial.

Italian law allows plaintiffs to attach requests for civil damages to criminal proceedings.

During Friday's sessions, as part of a seperate suit, damages were also sought against Knox for Diya "Patrick" Lumumba - a Congolese man who owns a Perugia pub where Knox worked and whom the American initially accused of being the killer. Because of her accusation, Lumumba was briefly jailed. He was later cleared and is seeking defamation damages from Knox because he claims that she falsely accused him of the murder.

Outside the court on Friday Curt Knox told reporters "We've been asked a number of times, you know, have we ever contacted them? And the answer is no. And until they know that Amanda had nothing to do with the loss of their daughter, with the murder of their daughter, I'm not sure that they'll be willing to accept our deepest condolences for the loss of her. And I truly look forward to that day being able to pick up the phone or talk to them in some manner, you know, saying how sorry we are for the loss of Meredith."

TELEVISION
48 Hours Mystery looked at the case in a recent episode.

MORE ON CRIMESIDER
November 24, 2009 - Amanda Knox: Sex-Game Murder Charge is "Pure Fantasy;" Italian Prosecutors Want Life Sentence
November 20, 2009 - Amanda Knox Trial: Convicted Killer Fingers Knox for Meredith Kercher Murder
June 19, 2009 - Knox's Mom Says Daughter, Victim Got Along
June 15, 2009 - "Always A Crescendo:" Amanda Knox Talks About Murder Investigation On Stand
June 12, 2009 - Knox's Alibi: Sex, Drugs And Sleep
June 8, 2009 - Amanda Knox Set To Testify In Italian Murder Trial
June 5, 2009 - Victim's Family To Testify In Amanda Knox In Italian Murder Trial

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by TonydelBalzo June 21, 2010 6:58 PM EDT: Mignini and the Italians have sued the original teller of the beat-down story and the next group in the chain, the parents. Why isn't the news caster who repeated the story on the air also being sued. Reason: This story is no longer about Meredith. Mignini has decided to make this about himself, his own selfish, corrupt self against Amanda Knox.; Reply to this comment


by TonydelBalzo June 21, 2010 5:50 PM EDT: Mignini and the Italians have sued the original teller of the beat-down story and the next group in the chain, the parents. Why isn't the news caster who repeated the story on the air also being sued. Reason: This story is no longer about Meredith. Mignini has decided to make this about himself, his own selfish, corrupt self against Amanda Knox.; Reply to this comment


by TonydelBalzo June 21, 2010 5:43 PM EDT: The Kercher's should lose their money grubbing lawyer. He makes them look crass. Imagine, setting a value on your daughter's live. OMG!!; Reply to this comment


by mym82 December 2, 2009 1:46 PM EST: Thats what is bothering me. Everything is circumstantial and now they want to sue. Anything they can do now a days to make life worse for everyone. And why sue the parents? They only repeated what they were told. They also did not commit the crime and are definitely suffering enough. This is absolutely ridiculous and they should drop the suit before they do any more damage. Ina case like this I would certainly be on the side of the parents. Whether their daughter did it or not would not even be a consideration. The fact is that they did not do it!; Reply to this comment

by jbright9 December 2, 2009 10:55 AM EST

I think parents should rethink letting their children study overseas. I don't think Amanda is guilty of murder but I do think she is way too silly and immature to be studying abroad. I certainly hope none of my family or myself would get caught up in a system that is so foreign to us. I feel extremely sorry for her parents.

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by iamtigger2005 December 3, 2009 6:39 AM EST: I couldn't disagree more. I studied overseas in the US and had the most fantastic time and experience and I'd encourage anybody in the US to do the same! Don't kill anyone while you're there though, that tends to go down badly.

Worryingly, I don't see the words "Meredith" or "Kercher" very much in these reports. A poor girl got raped and brutally murdered, and yet the US media are acting as if Amanda is the real victim just because she's pretty and American. There's plenty of evidence to suggest that she did it, we'll just have to see what the verdict is...


by bucketoftea December 1, 2009 7:57 PM EST: This trial isn't such a "big deal", us1776, because one of the accused is American. It's a big deal because a lovely, witty, accomplished and much-loved individual was murdered in a most brutal, depraved and disgusting way by 3 attackers. In Italian headlines, it's not the Amanda Knox Trial, it's the trial of the accused in the murder of Meredith Kercher.; Reply to this comment


by us_1776 December 1, 2009 12:44 PM EST: This is without a doubt the biggest "railroading" of an innocent person that I can remember. They have no "real" evidence. Only "contrived" evidence. And the prosecutor is a total nutcase. And was under investigation even before this case began and STILL somehow they allowed him, this nuthead, to prosecute this case with his wild fantasies.; Reply to this comment


by bucketoftea December 1, 2009 8:56 AM EST: It isn't the first time they've made attacks. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/7879293.stm It's an old and desperate defense ploy.; Reply to this comment


by bucketoftea December 1, 2009 8:12 AM EST: The Times article was indeed over a year ago, but since then Amanda's parents and supporters (paid and unpaid) have repeated and exaggerated the stories on TV, in print, and all over the internet.Doug Preston is hoping to really give his booksales a boost with his own "exaggerations" I think that in spite of being so gravely offended, the police have given them a face-saving opportunity to drop the ALL of the slander. Unfortunately for them, it's not in the best interest of their famewhore advisors to suddenly act in a civilised way.; Reply to this comment