Amanda Knox film causes outrage in Perugia for scenes ‘disrespecting’ Meredith Kercher

The mayor of an Italian city where Meredith Kercher was murdered has apologised for allowing s controversial drama to be filmed in the area. 

Decision to allow Disney to film the eight part series centred around Amanda Knox – who was jailed and then acquitted for the murder of Ms Kercher – in Perugia sparked outrage among locals.

When film crews arrived in the picturesque medieval city they were met with banners emblazoned with ‘Rispetto per Meredith’ (respect for Meredith) – making clear their presence in the area was not welcome.

The banners were in reference to the murder of Ms Kercher in 2007 while she was studying on exchange from the University of Leeds. She was found stabbed to death in the apartment which she shared with Ms Knox.

Ms Knox was then jailed after she was found guilty of fatally stabbing Ms Kercher though she was then definitively acquitted of the murder in 2015 due to a lack of evidence – after she had already served four years of her sentence.

Now, a series is being made for Hulu, a subscription streaming service owned by Disney, which tells of Ms Knox’s path to freedom.

The city of Perugia nestled in the scenic region of Umbria has long attempted to move on from the now infamous murder case.

Unsurprisingly, residents are angry that their city is once again associated with the ‘terrible crime.’ 

This has prompted the mayor of Perugia – Vittorria Ferdinandi – to apologise to locals in an open letter for allowing the filming to take place. 

According to the Guardian, she claimed to have overlooked ‘the people and their sorrow, which is still alive in them.’

While also defending the decision, Mayor Ferdinandi said ‘would have been filmed in any other town in our region’ and by allowing them to film in the city it gave the local government more control over what was filmed. 

The new series – titled Blue Moon – has already sparked controversy after Disney was slammed for their ‘lack of sensitivity’ by Ms Kercher .

The lawyer for the Kercher family, Francesco Maresca, said: ‘We’ve already spoken about this case too much and at a certain point you have to close the chapter.’

Speaking to The Times, she added: ‘However, Knox does not want to close the chapter.

‘This continuous stirring is a demonstration of a lack of sensitivity. She earns money, obtains visibility on the television after many years … It seems that Knox does not want people to forget about this story and does all she can to keep it alive.’

A statement from Meredith Kercher’s sister, Stephanie, read ‘she will forever hold a lasting legacy in friendship and kindness that no media can change’ and spoke of ‘an indescribable void’. 

The real murderer of Ms Kercher was eventually identified as Rudy Guede, from the Ivory Coast, after his DNA was found on her body.

He was sentenced to 16 years before being freed in 2021 as he only needed to serve 13 years due to good behaviour.

However, Ms Knox’s 2011 slander conviction relating to Patrick Lumumba who she accused of killing Ms Kercher would hang over her head for many years.

Ms Knox apologised in June this year to the court and said that she wrongly accused him after being put under intense police pressure for hours, adding she had been ‘scared, tricked and mistreated.’

She said: I am very sorry that I was not strong enough to resist the pressure of police’

But the two judges and six jurors found her guilty of slander.

She had earlier told the judge: ‘I never wanted to slander Patrick; he was my friend.’

Lumumba’s lawyers said the bar owner’s reputation suffered regardless of whether she knew who the murderer was.

‘When Patrick was accused by Amanda, he became known everywhere as the monster of Perugia,’ Lumumba’s lawyer Carlo Pacelli told reporters saying that the conviction should be upheld. Lumumba was not in court.

Ms Knox is now 37 and has two children. She spends her time advocating for criminal justice reform and campaigning against wrongful convictions. 

A 2011 film for US television, the 2013 memoir, Waiting to be Heard, and a 2016 Netflix documentary are just some of the ways she has had her story told already.

Ms Knox was reported to have been paid $3.8 million (£2.9 million) for her book deal.

The new series, titled Amanda: A Coming of Age Horror Story, is co-produced by Monica Lewinsky who became well-know for having an affair with the then-American president Bill Clinton – a story which Disney also decided to turn into a television drama.

Ms Knox is also executive producer on the new drama. She is being played by Grace Van Patten.  

Series bosses say it tells the ‘true story of how Amanda Knox was wrongfully convicted for the murder of her roommate Meredith Kercher and her 16-year odyssey to set herself free’.

Lawyer Maresca has made disapproving references to talks Ms Knox gave to American universities in 2018 for which she is reported to have been paid seven and a half thousand pounds for each.

Speaking to The Times, he went so far as to say that her calumny conviction being upheld cast doubt on her complete innocence.

‘Knox’s silence at the moment would have been the most appropriate thing,’ he concluded.