Who Murdered Meredith Kercher? Documentary release date on Paramount+ and is it a true story?

Who Murdered Meredith Kercher? is a new Paramount+ documentary which follows the 2007 murder case and subsequent media storm over who was responsible for the death of Kercher.

The two-part series unpacks the investigation into Kercher’s death and how the finger was pointed at Kercher’s roommate Amanda Knox and her boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito.

The true crime documentary does not introduce new evidence, rather it takes a fresh look at what is already in the public record.

Like many recent documentaries (see the many Princess Diana programmes), the focus is on the influence of the media, and the murky line between fact and fiction.

What is Who Murdered Meredith Kercher about?

The documentary series follows the media circus that took place during and before the trials of those suspected of the crime.

Raffaele Sollecito was interviewed for the documentary and explains his side of events, and how his experience with the legal system in Italy affected him.

Others featured in the documentary include Giuliano Mignini, the lead prosecutor in the trials of Knox and Sollecito, forensic and legal experts, and even Kercher’s vicar.

Also included are some of the journalists who became embroiled in the melodrama of the case at the time, some of whom wrote books on the case.

Who was Meredith Kercher?

Meredith Kercher was a 21-year-old British student at Leeds University on exchange in central Italy when she was killed in 2007.

She was found dead on the floor of her locked bedroom which she shared with her roommate Amanda Knox.

Kercher had been stabbed 47 times and suffocated on her own blood after her throat was cut.

Bloody fingerprints at the scene and other DNA evidence was found to belong to a drifter named Rudy Guede.

What happened to the murder suspects?

Rudy was arrested and opted for a fast track trial - he was initially sentenced to 30 years for murder and sexual assault, though the sentence was reduced to 16 years.

Amanda Knox and her boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito were also charged with the murder and the pair spent much of the next eight years going through trials and appeals.

In March 2015 the Court of Cassation, the highest court in Italy, ruled that Knox and Sollecito were innocent of Kercher’s murder and the cases was finally closed.

Sollecito spent four years in prison, six months of which was in solitary confinement, before finally being found innocent. Knox also spent four years in prison before being acquitted.

Where is Rudy Guede now?

Guede was released from prison in November 2021 after serving his 16-year sentence.

He has continued to protest his innocence, blaming Knox and Sollecito for Kercher’s murder, and saying that his DNA was at the scene because he tried to save her life.

He also said that he wrote to Kercher’s family to apologise for not doing enough to save Kercher.

When is the Who Murdered Meredith Kercher? release date?

Who Murdered Meredith Kercher was released on streaming platform Paramount+ on Thursday 25 August.