Amanda Knox Spotted in Seattle During Her Recovery
Although Amanda Knox continues to avoid the public eye after her return to America, paparazzi have spotted her hanging out with friends and shopping multiple times around her hometown of Seattle.
On Tuesday, Knox was spotted at a gas station for the first time since disembarking a plane in Seattle on Oct. 4.
She was accompanied by her stepfather, Chris Mellas, and her bodyguard. She and her stepfather stayed in their Jeep Grand Cherokee while the bodyguard filled the gas tank.
Knox has steered clear of the public eye since she arrived in Seattle last week, just one day after being acquitted in Perugia, Italy, of the murder of her British roommate Meredith Kercher.
“My family's the most important thing for me right now and I just want to go and be with them, so thank you for being there for me,” she told the public at a press conference.
Knox was again seen Thursday, strolling through downtown Seattle with best friend and ardent supporter Madison Paxton. Both women wore hats and kept their heads lowered, avoiding eye contact with looming paparazzi.
Pictures released Thursday also show Knox walking with an unidentified friend to her local grocery store, where she purchased toothpaste and a chocolate bar. She appeared relaxed and happy while she chatted with her male friend, who was disguised in sunglasses and a hat, pictures showed.
Knox has also been seen with her stepfather at a drive-thru Starbucks and entering an unmarked office building. She evidently appears shy of the paparazzi snapping her photo, keeping her head down and her eyes below the brim of her hat.
Knox and her Italian boyfriend, Rafaelle Sollecito, both won their appeals of the 2007 murder of Kercher, who was found in her Perugia flat, with signs of sexual abuse and stab wounds on her body and neck.
Knox originally received 26 years in Italian prison, while Sollecito received 25 years.
Knox spent four years in Italian prison awaiting her verdict, and must pay $54,000 to Congolese bar owner Patrick Lumumba for defaming his name in court, telling the jury he was Kercher’s killer.
Rudy Guede of the Ivory Coast is currently serving 16 years for Kercher’s murder after his DNA was found on the victim’s body.
Knox, now 24, is expected to make millions from of her first public interview, which many expect will be awarded to either Diane Sawyer of ABC or Matt Lauer of NBC.
