Hulu’s new drama series, “The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox,” revisits the 2007 legal saga of the American college student wrongfully convicted of murdering her British roommate, Meredith Kercher, while studying abroad.
“The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox” — which premieres with its first two episodes on Aug. 20 — is an eight-episode documentary drama created by K.J. Steinberg, executive produced by Monica Lewinsky and co-produced by Knox. Starring Grace Van Patten, who plays Knox from her 20s into the more recent past, the series retells the story from Knox’s perspective.
Giuseppe De Domenico also stars as Raffaele Sollecito, Knox’s boyfriend of a week, who was also accused (and convicted) of murdering Kercher. Francesco Acquaroli portrays Giuliano Mignini, the lead Italian prosecutor who worked on Knox’s real-life case.
Ahead of the premiere, here’s a look back at the real story of Amanda Knox.
Who Is Amanda Knox?
Amanda Knox is an author, criminal justice reform activist and the podcast host of “Hard Knox With Amanda Knox.”
Knox grew up in a middle-class household with her mother and sister in Seattle. After graduating from Seattle Preparatory School in 2005, Knox continued her education at the University of Washington in Seattle and studied creative writing, German and Italian, per The Guardian.
As her parents told The Seattle Times, Knox worked three jobs as a college student to save $10,000 to study for a year abroad in Perugia, Italy, during her junior year.
In 2007, the then-20-year–old college student became a household name when she was accused of murdering Kercher, her roommate and fellow British exchange student.
Her case became a years-long journey with the Italian justice system. Knox faced several trials and spent four years in an Italian prison after being wrongfully convicted.
Knox was ultimately acquitted of all murder charges. However, in 2024, an Italian court upheld her conviction of slandering former boss Patrick Lumumba when she falsely accused him of Kercher’s murder, per CNN.
What Was Amanda Knox Accused Of?
Knox stayed in Italy after law enforcement discovered Kercher’s body in their shared apartment. Kercher had been sexually assaulted and stabbed multiple times. After her body was discovered, Knox was detained by Italian police for questioning and was interrogated for 53 hours without legal counsel present.
Knox recalled the interrogation being “utter chaos,” according to a 2016 ABC News interview.
“I was hit on the back of the head, I was yelled at. Police were coming in and out of the room, telling me that I was a liar. It was chaos. It was utter chaos.”
After her interrogation, Knox signed a confession that falsely accused her boss Lumumba, and put her at the forefront of the crime scene. According to BBC, Knox later said she implicated Lumumba under coercive interrogation by the Italian police.
Knox was charged with murder alongside her then-boyfriend, Sollecito. The pair and Lumumba were arrested on Nov. 6, 2007, and held on suspicion of committing manslaughter and sexual violence. Lumumba was released two weeks later after his alibi was corroborated, according to People.
Another suspect, Rudy Guede, was arrested in Germany and charged with the murder after his fingerprints were found at the crime scene, as well as his DNA found inside and on Kercher’s body, according to a 2007 report from Dateline. He was given a fast-tracked trial, separate from Knox and Sollecito, in September 2008, according to BBC.
Today reported that he was found guilty of murder and sexual assault and sentenced to 30 years in prison. His sentence was eventually reduced to 16 years for the crime. He was released from prison in Italy in November 2021.
Guede only served 13 years after being released early on good behavior, per BBC. He still maintains his innocence in Kercher’s murder.
Despite Guede’s conviction, prosecutors alleged that Kercher had been murdered during a disagreement related to a sex game gone wrong, reported Dateline.
Knox and Sollecito remained indicted on murder charges. They both spent two years in prison until an Italian jury found them guilty on charges of sexual violence and murder.
Knox was sentenced to 26 years, whereas Sollecito was given 25 after their first trial.
What Happened With Amanda Knox’s Conviction?
Knox underwent three trials for the murder and sexual assault of Kercher. During the second trial in Italy in 2011, Knox and Sollecito appealed their convictions, after which they were both acquitted and freed. After having spent four years in prison, Knox returned to the United States, where she faced even more media attention and public scrutiny.
In 2013, Knox’s acquittal was overturned by the Italian Court of Cassation and was granted a retrial for Kercher’s murder, per NBC News. After being reconvicted, she remained in the U.S. as the retrial unfolded. Knox was sentenced in absentia to 28 ½ years in prison, while Sollecito was sentenced to 25 years.
Knox and Sollecito’s murder convictions were overturned again by Italy’s highest court of appeals, bringing her legal saga to an end. The courts, however, upheld her slander conviction against her former boss, in which she was initially charged in 2009.
According to NBC News, she was sentenced to three years in prison, but won’t have to serve additional jail time because of her time already served.
Did She Actually Reconnect With Her Prosecutor Giuliano Mignini?
In Knox’s recent memoir, “Free: My Search For Meaning,” she described how she eventually formed a relationship with Mignini via email many years after she was exonerated.
The two developed an unexpected friendship, with Knox taking it a step further by returning to Italy in 2023 to meet Mignini in person, according to People.
“Forgiveness is a natural consequence of realizing how fragile and precious another human is,” she told People. “I immediately sort of stepped into mom mode, and I was like, ‘I’m not just forgiving you. I’m holding you. I care about you.’ And that changed everything.”
Knox also reunited with her ex-boyfriend, Sollecito, nearly 15 years later, after their conviction, per The Daily Mail.
Where Is Amanda Knox Now?
In addition to being a public figure, Knox continues to advocate for people who are wrongfully incarcerated. She’s written two books about her journey and life experiences in “Waiting to Be Heard” (2013) and “Free: My Search for Meaning” (2025).
According to her official website, Knox is involved with multiple criminal justice reform organizations, including the Frederick Douglass Project for Justice and The Innocence Center.
Knox participated in the 2016 Netflix documentary about her legal battles titled “Amanda Knox.”
In 2018, People reported that she married author and “Labyrinths” podcast host Christopher Robinson. The couple welcomed their daughter Eureka Muse Knox-Robinson in 2021 and their son, Echo Knox-Robinson, in 2023.
