Lawyer for man falsely accused by Amanda Knox calls her a "she-devil"
(CBS/AP) PERUGIA, Italy - Amanda Knox, the American student convicted of killing her British roommate, was called a "she-devil" Monday by a lawyer for the man Knox implicated in the murder early on, and who was set free.
Knox was convicted of sexually assaulting and murdering Meredith Kercher while they were studying in Perugia in 2007 and sentenced to 26 years. She denies wrongdoing and has appealed the lower court's verdict, issued in 2009.In the early phase of investigation of the murder Knox accused Diya "Patrick" Lumumba of being the murderer. As a result of that claim, Lumumba was jailed for about two weeks - and then cleared and freed.
On Monday, Lumumba's attorney addressed the court hearing Knox's appeal. Lumumba is a civil plaintiff in the case and in Italy civil portions of cases are heard at the same time as the criminal matter.
Lumumba's attorney, Carlo Pacelli, maintained that the 24-year-old Knox has a double-soul.
"Both a (saint) and a demonic, satanic, diabolical she-devil, which leads her toward borderline behavior. This was the Amanda of Nov. 1, 2007," which was the night of the murder.
He insists that at the time of the crime, "she was an explosive mix of drugs, sex and alcohol."
Kercher was stabbed to death in the apartment she shared with Knox. At one point the American told investigators she was home during the killing and had to cover her ears to drown out Kercher's screams while Lumumba was murdering her, according to court documents.
According to Knox, the police pressure led her to accuse Lumumba, a Congolese national who owned a bar in Perugia where she occasionally worked.
Lumumba, a civil plaintiff in the case, is also seeking damages from Knox in a separate procedure because her claim led him to be unjustly detained.
Knox's co-defendant in the appeals trial is her former boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito. He was convicted of the same charges and sentenced to 25 years. He also denies wrongdoing.
A verdict in their appeals case is expected by next week. Knox and Sollecito hope to be freed after four years in jail; prosecutors have asked the court to increase the sentences of both to life in prison, Italy's stiffest sentence.
Also convicted in separate proceedings was Rudy Hermann Guede from Ivory Coast. Italy's highest criminal court has upheld Guede's conviction and his 16-year prison sentence. Guede denies wrongdoing.
Complete coverage of Amanda Knox on Crimesider