I think for us, the family, the guilty verdict is just the next step for us really. It contributes
obviously to the process of the Italian legal system, and obviously again we will have to
wait for the report to come out in 90 days time, which will confirm their reasoning,
but it does sort of contribute further next steps to hopefully get to an end to this case for us.
Of course, it's gone on for about six years now. I think we're looking at spring of 2015
now for yesterday's decision to be upheld or overturned again. I think I was saying
to somebody yesterday, you know, losing somebody close to you is difficult, losing somebody
of that age and obviously in the horrific circumstances that Meredith was killed. It's
horrendous, and then to have media attention, worldwide media attention, and the fact that
it's been drawn out over six years just makes it incredibly difficult for us. I think, perhaps
a lot of people don't appreciate that this is perhaps typical of a case of this nature
within the Italian legal system. I'm sure cases are perhaps few and far between, but
I think it was always a case that there would be appeals and counter appeals in it. Unfortunately
for us obviously, we're a case that falls into this category.
I think we're still on the journey to the truth, and it may be the fact that we don't
ever really know what happened that night, which is obviously something that we'll have
to come to terms with, and as you asked before about the repetition and the length of the
case. That's also quite hard to deal with because you can't ever really get to a point
where you can kind of just start to remember Meredith solely because it is following the
case, travelling over to Italy and everything associated with it. But the verdict has
been upheld again this time, so we hope that obviously coming in to the trial that we are
nearer to the truth and an end so that we can just start to remember Meredith for who
she was and draw the line under it as it were.
We're not party to any information that's not already in public domain. So as you say,
any holes that were in the details of that night, you know, we're very much wondering
ourselves with those events.
She's in a very different position to us. However, we have asked to have our wishes
respected, in that we would like to just be together as a family and remember Meredith
in that sense. And it's not something that we would want to do at the moment, and I can't
say that we ever will simply because, as Lyle said yesterday, you know, regardless now of
a guilty or not guilty verdict, a lot has happened over this amount of time. So it would
be very difficult to try and meet someone, having had all that happen anyway.
No matter what the decision and when it is finally upheld or not, you know, nothing's,
of course, going to bring Meredith back. You know, nothing will ever take away the horror
of what happened to her. The best we can hope for is, of course, finally bringing this whole
case to a conclusion, you know, and a conviction, and everybody can then move on with their lives.
Yes, if somebody's found guilty, and this would go for anybody. If somebody's found
guilty and convicted of a murder, if an extradition law exists between those countries, then I
don't see why they wouldn't. I imagine it would set a difficult precedent if a country
such as the US didn't choose to go along with laws that they themselves uphold when extraditing
convicted criminals from other countries. It probably leaves them in a strange position
not to. They've been released from prison from 2011 until now. I think they're not deemed
as a danger as it were, hence why Sollecito's passport only has been taken from him so he's
not at flight risk of the country. I guess on the outside, it looks like they're in a
strange position where they're convicted, but on the other hand seemingly free on a
day to day basis. But you know, of course they're living through this as well. This
is going to be weighing on their mind until next spring, and as I say we're obviously
discuss the extradition for Knox, but as I say, if Sollecito's passport has been taken
from him, then he's obviously not going to be leaving the country.