‘Foxy Knoxy’ gets $4.8m book deal
Los Angeles – Amanda Knox, the American student who was cleared of the murder of her British room-mate, Meredith Kercher, in Italy, has sold her memoir for US$4 million (NZ$4.8M).
The deal comes four months after Knox, 24, was released from an Italian prison where she had spent four years.
While behind bars she was branded ‘‘Foxy Knoxy’’ by tabloids and vilified as a sexually rapacious witch by prosecutors.
‘‘Knox will give a full and unflinching account of the events that led to her arrest and her struggles with the complexities of the Italian judicial system,’’ publisher Harpercollins said.
‘‘She will reveal never-beforetold details and describe how she used her inner strength and strong family ties to cope with the most challenging time of her life.’’ It was unclear whether any money will go to the Kercher family. Knox’s grandmother said last year that it would be a good idea for them to benefit from the proceeds of any deal.
Knox was arrested in 2007 with her then boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito, after Kercher, 21, a student from London, was found stabbed to death in the house the two women shared in the Umbrian town of Perugia.
She was convicted of murder in 2009, but released and returned to her home city of Seattle after an appeal last October.
While in prison she kept a diary that will help to shape her memoir.
Robert B Barnett, the Washington lawyer whose other clients include President Barack Obama and Sarah Palin, brokered the book deal.