Amanda Marie Knox (born July 9, 1987) is an American writer and activist who spent almost four years in an Italian prison following her wrongful conviction for the 2007 murder of Meredith Kercher. Knox, then 20, had spent the night with her boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito; upon returning to the flat she shared with Kercher, she discovered her roommate dead. She became a suspect and during an interview—the conduct of which is a matter of dispute—she implicated herself, Sollecito, and her employer, Patrick Lumumba, all of whom were consequently charged with the murder. Forensic evidence from Kercher's body identified Rudy Guede, a petty criminal, and he, not Lumumba, faced charges. Although originally denying that Knox had any involvement, Guede later incriminated Knox as the killer. He was tried first and convicted, although not of actually inflicting fatal injuries. At the murder trial of Knox and Sollecito, American legal commentators were disturbed by courtroom attacks on her character and evidence officially ruled improper being heard by the jury nonetheless.