Deadly exchange

She came to study Italian and ended-up here in prison. Amanda Knox shares a cell with three other women.

Richard Owen: A white-washed room with a wall-mounted TV. She does exercises by hanging from the bars of the window which reminded her of rock climbing that she sued to enjoy back in the states.

Murphy: Reportedly singing at the top of her lungs in the exercise yard.

Owen: Singing at the top of her lungs and writing, writing, writing feverishly.

Authorities seized Amanda's prison diary and it seems she now has yet another theory of the murder: that her then-boyfriend, Raffaele, snuck off to the house while she dozed, killed Meredith and then returned, placing the murder weapon in her sleeping hand in order to plant her DNA on the knife handle. Amanda is saying she was framed, or then again, maybe she just dreamt that.

Richard Owen: I don't think she quite realizes the gravity of the accusation against her. She said herself she finds it difficult to distinguish between reality and dream. And maybe in some part of her, she's still living in this dream world.

Murphy: And she is at the center of everything. It is her little house. It's her murdered roommate.

Owen: Yes.

Murphy: Her Italian boyfriend. Her former boss.

Owen: Yes.

Murphy: Rudy, we don't know quite how he fits in.

Owen: No.

Murphy: But there's an 'Amanda-ness' at the center of all of this in some way, isn't there?

Owen: I think, inevitably, it has come to be seen, as no doubt will be seen in future when books and films are made about this story as they inevitably will be, as Amanda’s story essentially.

Like the other two suspects, Raffaele and Rudy, authorities can detain Amanda for up to a year without charging her.

Italy doesn't have a death penalty but conviction on a homicide charge carries a sentence of not less than 21-years.

Clint Van Zandt: These are good cops. They're linking together all of the technology, cell phone, internet, crime scene forensic evidence. I think when this is all over and done with we will find out what happened to Meredith that terrible night.

Clint Van Zandt: I think Amanda has got an uphill battle. She's painted herself back into a corner that she's going to have a hard time getting' out of. The only thing that's going to get her out of it is the truth. But this is someone, because of physical evidence and because of the statements of others, may very well take a hard fall for this homicide.

Clint Van Zandt: Realize that this is a young woman wearing two masks. One mask is Amanda, the good girl, grew up in a Catholic school, an athlete, does what her mother says. And then you've got this other mask that when she gets here it's: “I’m going wild, I’m having fun. This is where I sow my wild oats.” Now which is the true Amanda? Probably both.

But Amanda's close friends out in Seattle aren't buying the girl gone wild character analysis.

Madison Paxton regards Amanda as a best friend and it's simply not the person she knows.

Madison Paxton: It's unfathomable to think that in a couple of months in Italy this person, this character that she was developing for 20 years would suddenly be completely flipped.

“Foxy Knoxy”? Just so much juicy copy for salacious news stories.

Madison: It's much more interesting if a beautiful girl from America was somehow involved in this and had a complete personality change in a couple of months and became insane and a sex addict and a drug addict...

But if and when charges are brought a three judge panel will render a verdict based on hard forensic evidence and not blogs and YouTube postings.

Dennis Murphy: Are you ever going to be able to put that knife in somebody's hands? One of these three.

Clint Van Zandt: I think what the police are going to wind up doing is get one person to talk, one person, well, this going to be a “come-to-Jesus, let's make a deal” time. And tell us exactly what happened and what everyone's role was? I think we'll see that time come.

Meredith Kercher was buried in England on Dec. 14. She was just 21 years old, two months into the most exciting year of her life.

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