Amanda Knox's Mom Defends Her at Trial
Knox's mother testifies in murder trial 6,000 miles from their home.
PERUGIA, Italy June 19, 2009 — -- Amanda Knox's mother today faced a situation most mothers can't imagine: She literally was fighting for her daughter's freedom.
Edda Mellas took the stand in a medieval Italian courtroom 6,000 miles away from her Seattle home, a witness in her 21-year-old daughter's murder trial.
Her daughter, Amanda Knox has been on trial in Perugia, Italy, for the past five months, accused, along with her former boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito, 25, of brutally murdering her British roommate, Meredith Kercher.
A third person, Rudy Guede, was convicted and sentenced to 30 years in prison last October for his role in the crime.
When Mellas came to the stand she was calm and very precise in her description of the events that took place the morning Kercher's body was found. She described her daughter as very upset and confused when she first called saying that she had found a "strange situation" at the house.
Knox then called her mother two more times finally telling her they had found Kercher's body and that she had to talk to the police.
Knox sat watching her mother testify, smiling shyly at her when she came into the court. While her mother was questioned by her lawyer Knox sat, head bowed, and doodled on her pad.
Mellas was also asked what Amanda had said in prison to her mother about involving Patrick Lumumba, the owner of a local bar who Knox initially told police may have been involved in the murder. "She said that she said something under extreme pressure and felt bad she did not have the courage to stand up to them and say, no it is not true," Mellas testified.
She also said there were no problems between her daughter and Kercher.
"They got along great," Mellas told the eight-member jury. "She told me about the fun things she and Meredith did," she said, without elaborating.
