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Killer Of Amanda Knox Roommate Meredith Kercher Given Early Release From Sentence For Good Behavior
Rudy Guede served 13 years in prison for the rape and murder of British student Meredith Kercher.
The man held responsible for the murder of a British student in Perugia in 2008 has been released from custody after 13 years.
Rudy Guede, 34, was convicted in 2008 of the rape and murder of Meredith Kercher, who in 2007 was the roommate of Amanda Knox. Initially sentenced to 30 years in prison, his sentence was reduced to 16 years on appeal. In 2020, the Italians courts reportedly allowed Guede to finish serving sentence by performing community service outside the prison.
Guede's lawyer, Fabrizio Ballarini, confirmed to the Associated Press that Guede has now fully been released from custody in the town of Viterbo, about 75 miles southwest of Perugia.
In 2020, when news of Guede's work release program was made public, Knox told "Good Morning America" that she feels like his role in the crime has never been fully acknowledged.
"And while I can't say that I wish him suffering or imprisonment, I do wish that he had been fully held accountable for what he did and that he acknowledged what he did, and I don't know if that will ever happen," she said.
Kirchner was murdered in November 2007, and Knox and her then-boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito, found the body. Though there was a broken window and other evidence of a break-in, police arrested Knox and Sollecito. Thereafter, they discovered fingerprints and other DNA evidence tying Guede — who had previous arrests — for the crime, yet prosecutors persisted in trying all three. Guede insisted on a separate, fast-track trial and was convicted, though an appeal helped reduce his sentence.
Knox and Sollecito, tried together, were also convicted based on the prosecution theory that Kercher was killed in a sex game gone awry. Their convictions were thrown out by the courts, they were tried again, convicted again before those convictions were permanently thrown out a second time.
Knox, who maintained her innocence the entire time, returned to the U.S. in 2011 after her conviction was overturned the first time. She was definitively acquitted in 2015. She's since married and recently welcomed a daughter.
