Six years after she was convicted of murder in Italy, life is going on for Amanda Knox, who announced her engagement. The 27-year-old is planning to marry a Brooklyn musician, despite the fact that she may still face some serious legal issues in Italy after a court rules on March 25 on whether she must return to be tried again for murder.
First, the happy news: Knox is engaged to musician Colin "Thunderstrike" Sutherland, a 27-year-old who is reportedly obsessed with ghost hunting and whom Knox has known since they were both middle school students in Seattle. Sutherland reportedly kept in contact with Knox by writing to her after she was sentenced to prison in Italy in 2009, along with her Italian ex-boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito, for killing her British roommate Meredith Kercher while studying abroad in 2007.
Knox spent four years in prison in Italy and was freed in 2011 after an appeal overturned her conviction. She has since been living in Seattle and working at a bookstore and as a freelance reporter for the West Seattle Herald. Her future husband is so smitten that he left Brooklyn to settle with her in Washington.
But the young woman's troubles aren't over yet. Italian prosecutors won an appeal to re-convict Knox and Sollecito. In just a few weeks, a high court will determine whether the newly engaged woman will be forced to return to Italy to face yet another murder trial.
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Truth be told, it's unlikely Knox is ever going to step foot in Italy again—I mean, she has pretty much vowed not to. Even if Italy requests that she be extradited, Knox is now a celebrity who has a ton of supporters in this country who will likely make it their business to ensure that doesn't happen.
Meanwhile, Sollecito, 30, isn't so fortunate. He was reportedly ordered to stay in Italy and will likely have to stand a trial again for Kercher's murder.
The fact that Knox is moving forward with her love life and planning a wedding sets forth a strong statement about her intentions to live in the United States as a free woman.
Do you think Amanda Knox should move forward with a wedding or should she face the music at a second trial in Italy?
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