In 2008, a year before Knox was convicted, Rudy Guede, a native of Ivory Coast, was convicted for his part in the murder. Originally sentenced to 29 years, his time was reduced to 16 years. At no point during court proceedings has it been confirmed that he acted alone. Evidence and witness testimony at times point to or make it reasonable to believe several individuals were involved in the murder in some capacity.
Kercher was murdered in November 2007. The details of what exactly happened may never be known, but the gruesome crime scene paints a picture of a horrible death. Despite multiple stab wounds and abrasions, Kercher ultimately died from suffocation after choking on her own blood. Due to the sexual nature of the evidence, one theory has been of an erotic sex game gone wrong, though it has never been proven.
In overturning the acquittal, the high court states that the defense teams did not prove that Guede acted alone and did not prove that Knox or Sollecito were innocent of involvement in the murder. Following her acquittal, Knox returned to her hometown of Seattle, Washington, in the United States and is of late touting her memoir. An overturn of the acquittal essentially leaves her and Sollecito convicted of the murder again and indicates that the high court believes they should be back in jail.
Neither she nor Sollecito must be in Italy for the retrial scheduled for September 30th. However, her attorneys have no doubt spent the summer thus far studying the judgement in a likely attempt to file a 2nd appeal. If that were to occur, it could be expected to be heard in early 2014. This time, the high court would need to approve the final ruling before the case is officially closed.