Meredith Kercher family hit out at 'disrespectful' Amanda Knox as new series premieres

Meredith Kercher's family solicitor has unleashed a scathing attack on Amanda Knox following the debut of the new series centred on the aftermath of the 2007 murder and subsequent trial.

The 38 year old has executive-produced K. J. Steinberg's eight-part Hulu series, The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox, which draws heavily from her memoir. Grace Van Patten portrays Amanda in the production.

Following the programme's New York premiere on Tuesday, where the cleared American was spotted beaming on the red carpet alongside Monica Lewinsky, Kercher family barrister Francesco Maresca has struck back, telling The Mirror, "The important thing is that Amanda Knox clearly wants this case to continue."

"It would be nice and dignified to watch a program or TV show where everything is reconstructed, remembering the life and smile of poor Meredith.", reports the Mirror US.

'Focus on Knox'

Mr Maresca continued, "Instead, once again, we have to witness an attempt to reshuffle the cards, and where the trailer states, 'Amanda fights tirelessly to prove her innocence and regain her freedom.' Once again, the focus is on Knox."

When the programme was initially revealed last year, Meredith's sister, Stephanie, remarked, "It is difficult to understand how this serves any purpose."

At that time, Maresca declared Amanda's ventures surrounding Meredith's killing and the media frenzy that ensued remained "inappropriate and disrespectful towards the memory of Meredith," alleging the Perugia trial had become a means for her to profit from her infamy. "Ms. Knox, after so many years, should respect the silence and memory," he said, as filming took place in the same Italian town where the 21 year old was killed.

In November 2007, Leeds University student Meredith was sexually assaulted, before having her throat slashed and stabbed 47 times while studying in Perugia.

Meredith's flatmate, Amanda, and her then-boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito, were initially convicted of her murder along with Rudy Guede.

Knox profited

The charges sparked a media frenzy as she was branded 'Foxy Knoxy' by the press.

The pair were found guilty in 2009 but were released on appeal two years later.

Their guilty verdict was reinstated in 2014 but overturned by Italy's highest court in March 2015.

The mother of two has since profited from her ordeal by authoring a book, producing a Netflix documentary, recording numerous podcasts, and making several speaking appearances, some in Italy.

Despite opposition from locals in Perugia and those close to Meredith, she proceeded with the series, with Monica Lewinsky serving as executive producer.

Lewinsky and Knox

Their friendship began in 2017 during a speaking event two years after Amanda was cleared, and has since evolved into a professional collaboration.

This week, prior to the 20th August premiere, the Seattle native also spoke about explaining the case to her four year old daughter, Eureka, saying: "It's very simple. When Mommy was young, Mommy went to Italy, and she made friends and she had fun, but then someone hurt her friend, and the police thought Mommy hurt her friend, and so they put Mommy in jail.

"Mommy was in jail for a long time, and she was very sad. But then one day, Mommy proved that she was innocent, and she got to go home, and then she met your daddy and had you and lived happily ever after."

Critics argue the new series and Amanda's ongoing public accounts represent a relentless bid to profit from a tragedy in which she played a peripheral role, rather than genuine reflection.

Others have questioned whether such programmes serve any function beyond self-promotion, highlighting the ongoing anguish for Meredith's family and the sensationalising of revisiting the extensively covered case.

The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox is available on Hulu.