As you'll recall, Knox and her former boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito, 24, are accused of murdering and sexually assaulting British student Meredith Kercher, who was found semi-naked with her throat cut in her bedroom in the house she shared with Knox in November 2007. Rudy Guede, 21, from the Ivory Coast, was already convicted of Kercher's murder and rape and sentenced to 30 years in prison in October. Prosecutors say that Sollecito and Knox held Kercher down while Guede raped her in a sex game gone wrong.

While Sollectito and Knox are both standing trial, not surprisingly, the Italian media frenzy has focused on Knox. "Foxy Knoxy" was the highest ranked woman in an Italian "personality of the year" poll in December, and the BBC reports that the Italian media has treated her as a "Lady Macbeth figure." Yesterday, much of the court proceedings dealt with how to handle the case considering the intense public interest. Francesco Maresca, a lawyer for Kercher's family sought to have the proceedings closed to the public and media, "to protect the memory and dignity of the victim and the Kercher family have lost a child." Prosecutors were not opposed to a closed trial, but the defendants wanted the case public. "We are going to demonstrate that there is no evidence against Raffaele Sollecito," said his lawyer, according to The Sun. The judge ruled that the trial will remain open, and more than 150 press passes have been issued for the court.

Earlier this week, the Kercher family appealed to the court to have a book about the case impounded, according to The Guardian. The book is based mainly on Knox's diaries, which were confiscated by the police, and reveals details about the students drinking and partying lifestyle. The publishers refused to stop distribution of the book, saying in is already in circulation. The author says that the book doesn't influence the trial because the diaries are part of evidence that will be submitted in court.

Knox and Sollecito have already been in jail for 14 months, and the trial could drag on for as long as a year, since in Italy only one to two hearings are held per week. Six members of the jury, three men and three women, were sworn in today and 250 witnesses are lined up to testify. Italy does not have the death penalty, so if convicted, the pair would face a maximum sentence of life in prison.

Foxy Knoxy Appears In Court [The Sun]
Italy Focuses On 'Foxy Knoxy' As Trial Opens [BBC]
Meredith Kercher Murder Trial To Be Held In Public, Judge Rules [The Guardian]

If you'll recall, Guede had the most damning evidence against him, as his bloody handprint was found beneath Kercher's dead body. If Guede has been convicted, why are Knox and Sollecito still being brought up on charges?

According to Time, "Knox's sexual history has been widely reported, with prosecutors linking her past to their allegation that the victim was forced into an orgy. (Even last week, Italy's leading daily Corriere della Sera reported that Knox had to fend off lesbian advances of a fellow prisoner.)" In addition, prosecutors believe that Knox and Sollecito held Kercher down while Guede attempted to rape her. Besides Knox's "slutty" past and some circumstantial evidence (like Knox's DNA found on the knife that killed Kercher — a kitchen knife from their shared apartment that Knox would have used for cooking), there is no clear reason why prosecutors have stumbled on this particular series of events as the explanation for Kercher's death.

Meredith Kercher's poor family is mildly heartened by Guede's conviction. "It's important to remember that at the end of day we're here because our sister Meredith was murdered. 'Pleased' is not the appropriate word, 'satisfied' is the best we can say," Meredith's brother Lyle told reporters.

When Amanda Knox heard she would be standing trial for Kercher's murder, she burst into tears. For now, her lawyers are trying to get Knox out of the Italian prison where she's been held for the past year and into a hostel run by a Catholic charity. If she's found innocent, as at this point is truly seems she is, I hope Knox gets a boatload of money to write a memoir about this surreal and awful period of her life.

'Foxy' Amanda Knox to Stand Trial in Italy Murder [Time]
The Accused [Radar]
Meredith Kercher's Family 'Satisfied' After Drifter Rudy Guede Is Jailed For 30 years [Telegraph]

Earlier: Murder Suspect Amanda Knox Accused Of Satanic Orgy Plot

Lawyers for Knox's side say that this is a mere "presumed scenario" with no real evidence to back it up. Many media reports, including a thorough Radar feature, note that prosecutor Mignini has had it out for Amanda Knox since the murder occurred.

As discussed last week, Radar's Sarah Horne reported that, "Lisa Pasko, a criminology professor at the University of Denver who specializes in young women who commit violent crimes, has been following the case and does not believe that Knox participated in Kercher's murder…She likens Mignini's behavior to that of the very vocal prosecutor in the Duke rape case, former Durham County district attorney Mike Nifong, who improperly leaked information to the media in order to beef up his case against the accused lacrosse players."

Amanda herself took the stand during a closed-door hearing today in Perugia, and proclaimed her innocence. An obviously emotional Knox told the court "Meredith was my friend… I had no reason to kill her." As for the other two men allegedly involved, Rudy Hermann Guede has requested a "fast-track" trial and has admitted to being in the room when Kercher died. Though Knox and Sollecito have no prior records, the Radar article pointed out that Guede is a "petty criminal who had a history of home invasions with a knife," and according to the Guardian, a pillow with Guede's bloody hand print was found beneath Kercher's body. The case against Sollecito seems to be based mostly on the fact that he liked violent Japanese Manga comics that depicted murder scenarios.

Kercher's parents are lodging a claim for financial compensation in the aftermath of Meredith's death, and according to the Daily Mail, their lawyers will argue that "'this was a particularly violent crime and that all three [Knox, Sollecito and Guede] were present and responsible for her death."

U.S. Student Accused Of "Satanic" Slaying [AP via CBS News]
The Accused [Radar]
Knox Accused Of Stabbing Meredith [Guardian]
Meredith's Parents Lodge Claim For Murder Damages After Court Is Told She Was Attacked For Refusing To Take part In Drug-Fuelled Orgy [Daily Mail]

Earlier: True Crime

This news comes on the heels of new developments in the Natalee Holloway case, which still remains the mother of all missing white woman news stories. The three suspects who were originally detained in the Holloway case, Aruban brothers Deepak and Satish Kalpoe and Netherlands native Joran van der Sloot, have been arrested again as "new material in the investigation" has surfaced. The trio were the last people to see Natalee alive and will appear in front of an Aruban court today. Natalee's dad is also attempting to search for her body, telling the AP that he thinks Natalee's "body was thrown into deep water that has not been adequately searched." We really hate to break it to a grieving father, but it's been over two years since Natalee went missing. Her body, if it was buried at sea, was fish food a long time ago.

Finally: An update in the investigation of alleged murderess, Amanda "Foxyknoxy" Knox. The day after she killed roommate Meredith Kercher in Perugia, Italy, in the midst of what is believed to be an "'extreme' sex game," Amanda Knox bought panties with her boyfriend and fellow murder suspect Raffaele Sollecito (whose name we keep confusing with Anne Hathaway boyfriend, real estate crook Raffaello Follieri). Anyway! The day after Kercher's death, Knox bought two g-strings and told Sollecito in front of the shopkeeper, "After I get you back home, we are going to have wild sex."

Suspects in Holloway Case To Appear In Aruba Court Friday [CNN]
Letter To Suspect Says Missing Illinois Woman Spotted [CNN]
Knox 'bought underwear after Meredith murder [Telegraph]
Mississippi College Student Missing For A Week [Concrete Loop]

Earlier: What Do You Do With The "Missing White Girl" Story?
Don't Hate Alleged Murderess Because She's "Ivory Soap Ad" Beautiful
Media Glare Often Reflects Off Skinny White Women

Anyway, beyond imagining the potential orgy scenarios that led to Kercher's slaying, the most interesting part of the case is the way Knox, whose MySpace handle is foxyknoxy, is being portrayed by the press.
According to Time:

There has been a stream of photos downloaded from the Internet showing the strawberry blond linguistics major in a variety of settings, always looking like she'd just stepped out of an Ivory soap ad. Italian papers have reported that she's gotten fan mail in jail, including one letter calling her: "bellissima!" Those who are convinced of her guilt no doubt will hate her even more because she is beautiful.

A Murder Year Abroad? [Time]
Meredith Kercher Murder May Have Been Premeditated [Times of London]
Italian Murder Puts American Student In Spotlight [International Herald Tribune]
Related: Amanda Knox [MySpace]