As if Ms. Kercher's death weren't excruciating enough, she was presumably raped first. Newsweek titled its article about the case "Death in Perugia," in an apparent allusion to "Death in Venice," the Thomas Mann novella turned into a film by Luchino Visconti.
If, like most who follow crime, you like to swallow your violence in small doses instead of whole hog like the Iraq War, you're out of luck with Ms. Kercher's murder. In its horror, it's the equivalent of Death in Baghdad.
The second reason there's no need to feel guilty about following the case is that is has larger societal implications than just "crime is a symptom of our modern angst and anomie, blah, blah, blah."
Newsweek wrote that "the allegations against Lumumba, a legal immigrant, have tapped into a larger Italian debate over multiculturalism. Police statistics saying that nearly two-thirds of violent crimes in Italy are carried out by immigrants have triggered a wave of resentment against the new residents. . ."
Not to mention that his name rubbed his African-ness in the face of Italy. Patrice Lumumba's namesake is the martyred father of his country, to whom he was actually related.
When the latter-day Lumumba, whose record was spotless, was released, Guede, though he has yet to be extradited from Germany, more than filled his shoes. With his wild appearance, Guede only adds to Italy's fear of being overrun by outsiders, like Rome was by barbarians.
Guede has admitted –- and since issued the obligatory recantation –- to having sex with Ms. Kercher the night of the murder. But he claims that someone resembling Sollecito killed her and that Knox wasn't present.
If that's true why, at one point, did Knox admit she was in the house at the time of the murder and why the lack of emotion upon hearing of the death of her housemate, however hated? Worse, not only was her DNA found on the murder weapon, but a drop of her blood was identified on the faucet in Ms. Kercher's bathroom.
Furthermore, according to a report in the Times of London, "She has read and re-read a Bible given to her by the prison chaplain, underlining many passages, and has asked the priest to 'explain the Catholic concept of forgiveness' to her."
It might be turning in Lumumba for which she seeks forgiveness. But, of course, one can't help jumping to the conclusion she seeks to do penance for a mortal sin.
Knox maintained a MySpace profile, which has since been removed from the Web. But some quick-thinking soul saved a sample of her posts.
Aside from a notorious short story she wrote about rape, Knox chronicled -- with genuine insight -- her everyday life. Despite her reputation for promiscuity, whatever allusions she makes to partying and sex don't seem out of line for an American girl.
After their arrests, as usually happens, Sollecito distanced herself from Knox. He condemned her for being shallow, but added that "to even begin to imagine that she is an assassin is impossible."
Lumumba, on the other hand, found revenge in print. In an interview with Britain's juicy Daily Mail, he portrayed his former bar maid as an insecure woman who not only flirted with his customers, but led them on like a sex worker.
Mad as hell after the harm she caused him and his family, Lumumba said: "I don't even think she is evil. . . to be evil you have to have a soul. Amanda's empty, dead, inside."
Strong stuff, but consider this: The Perugia police claim mobile phone records reveal that Guede and Knox talked to each other several times both before the murder and afterwards.
Russ Wellen is the nuclear deproliferation editor for OpEdNews. He's also on the staffs of Freezerbox and Scholars & Rogues.
"It's hard to tell people not to smoke when you have a cigarette dangling from your mouth." -- Mohamed El Baradei, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency
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