The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox: Who really killed Meredith Kercher? Details from the true crime case, explored

Hulu's latest docu-series, The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox, retells the wrongful conviction of Amanda Knox in 2007, an exchange student in Italy, who was arrested for the murder of her roommate Meredith Kercher in a very public trial.

The eight-part docu-series presents this 2007 case from Knox's perspective, which gained public and media attention back in the day. Inspired by Amanda Knox's memoir Waiting To Be Heard, the series follows Kercher's murder, Knox's humiliating trial and prison sentence, and her eventual release after four years.

However, The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox has also sparked a renewed interest in the identity of Meredith Kercher's real killer. While Knox and her then-boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito were eventually acquitted for their crimes, Rudy Guede, a then-20-year-old drifter, was found guilty. Rudy regularly hung out around Kercher and Knox's apartment and was well-acquainted with the two women.

A known burglar, Rudy's initial statement painted Amanda Knox and her boyfriend as his accomplices, but since scientific evidence did not match his statement, they were eventually released. In October 2008, Rudy Guede was found guilty and arrested for the sexual assault and murder of Meredith Kercher.

More on Meredith Kercher's killer in The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox in our story.

The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox: Who really killed Meredith Kercher?

In The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox, while the prosecutors were determined to prove Amanda Knox was Meredith Kercher's murderer, all evidence pointed towards Rudy Guede, the 20-year-old drifter who had a criminal history and was also acquainted with the two women. After being introduced to the Italian men at Via della Pergola 7, Guede started hanging out with Knox, her boyfriend, and Kercher.

After his shoeprints, fingerprints, and DNA were found on Kercher's body and around the house, he was extradited from Germany. Rudy Guede had never confessed to killing Meredith Kercher publicly. While Amanda Knox was given a public trial outside the courtroom, Guede opted for a fast-track trial, held in closed sessions without any reporters.

During his statement, he confessed to being in Meredith Kercher's house during the murder but did not admit to killing her. Instead, he claimed that he heard Kercher's screams when he was in the restroom and later saw her body lying in the apartment, with a 'shadowy figure' holding a bloodied knife near her.

His statement also claimed that he saw Amanda Knox's silhouette from the apartment's window, and she was present in the house during the murder. In addition, Rudy Guede claimed that Kercher was in a heated argument with Amanda Knox, which furthered the police's suspicions about her.

The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox: What happened to Rudy Guede? Exploring the whereabouts of Meredith Kercher's killer

The scientific evidence found in Kercher's apartment was enough to paint Rudy Guede as her killer, but his statement about Amanda Knox was taken into account seriously. As seen in The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox, the prosecution had already established Amanda Knox as a sexual deviant and femme fatale in the public eye, giving her the nickname of Foxy-Noxy. Guede's statement only helped them in accusing Knox of assaulting and killing Kercher with Guede and Sollecito's aid as part of a sick game.

After Rudy Guede's arrest in 2008, Knox and Sollecito’s prison sentences of 26 and 25 years, respectively, were shortened to four years. Rudy Guede was sentenced to 30 years in prison, which was later shortened to 16 years. However, Guede spent only 13 years in prison and was released in 2021 and allowed to continue his sentence by doing community service.

Even before his early release in 2021, Rudy Guede was given a partial release in 2017 for his good behaviour. He was allowed to go out during the day to volunteer for a Catholic charity and work as a librarian at the Viterbo criminological studies center. He now lives in Viterbo, Italy.

Guede maintained his innocence after being released from prison, where he said:

“I’ve got blood on my hands because I tried to save her, not kill her...the [legal] documents say others were there and that I did not inflict the fatal wounds.”

The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox is streaming on Hulu.

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