Knox definitively acquitted by top Italian court

The conviction of American Amanda Knox for the 2007 murder of her British flatmate has been overturned by Italy’s top court. The surprise verdict acquitting the woman of all charges and drawing to a close a decade-long courtroom saga.

The story of the brutal stabbing of 21-year-old Meredith Kercher, involving allegations of sex games, filmstar good-looks and multiple trials provided ample tabloid fodder worldwide, also spawning several books and films.

"I'm still absorbing the present moment, which is full of joy," said an emotional Knox, 27, addressing a news conference outside her mother's home in Seattle on Friday night. "I'm grateful to have my life back."

The Court of Cassation overturned the second guilty verdict against Knox and her former boyfriend the Italian Raffaele Sollecito, 31, for the murder, saying there was insufficient evidence to convict either of them.

Kercher had been found stabbed to death in a house which she shared with Knox Perugia, Italy in 2007. Rudy Guede, an Ivorian, is currently serving a 16-year sentence for the crime, but judges in the previous trials ruled he did not act alone.

The court had been expected to order a retrial, even it overturned the previous convictions, but has instead definitively cleared both Knox and Sollecito.