Gary C King - The Murder of Meredith Kercher

T he medieval hillside city of Perugia, capital of the Umbrian region of Italy, situated near the Tiber River between Rome and Florence, is a notable artistic centre whose neighbouring town, Citta della Pieve, was home to painter Pietro Vannucci (also known as Perugino), who taught the great Renaissance artist Raphael. With a modern population of more than 160,000, Perugia was originally a mere settlement which historians have dated back to 310 BC. Known for having a transitional and prevalently Mediterranean climate, winters are not particularly cold and summers are pleasant and often breezy. Despite its historic past, today Perugia is renowned for its chocolate, being home to the Perugina chocolate company which makes Baci, or chocolate kisses, that are popular throughout Italy and elsewhere. The city also hosts a chocolate festival that begins in October and runs into November, enjoyed by the local residents and tourists alike.

Unfortunately, Perugia is now more widely known for the gruesome and sensational, sex-related murder of Meredith Kercher, a beautiful young foreign exchange student who succumbed to a slow and agonizing death. Meredith had moved to Perugia from her home in England to finish her studies at the Universita per Stranieri the University of Foreigners which attracts some 8,000 students a year from all over the world to study the Italian language and culture. The sordid details of this tragic case, as well as the questionable aspects of who had committed the crime and why, kept much of the UK and Europe riveted, especially as speculation heightened in the run-up to the Italian courts verdict in late 2009. And as one of the prime suspects was an American honor student, interest in the case crossed the Atlantic and kept many in the United States equally engrossed. It also brought into focus the apparently often wild student life in Perugia, going far beyond the intended cultural and educational enrichment of their parents expectations, with students drifting into frequent open sexual relationships, combined with drinking and drug-taking. There were clearly dark aspects beneath the surface of this otherwise idyllic university town.

Just 21 years old at the time of her death, Meredith Susanna Cara Kercher, also known as Mez to her family and friends, was born in February 1986 in the London borough of Southwark, to an Indian mother and English father. She had a natural beauty, which some attributed to the blood mix of her parents, with flowing brown hair, brown eyes and a radiant smile sufficient to melt any young mans heart, and a personality just as pleasing as her looks. Meredith was in her third year of studies at the University of Leeds, working towards a degree in European studies when she entered the European Region Action Scheme for the Mobility of University Students (ERASMUS) student exchange programme and travelled to Italy in August 2007 to complete the course of study for her degree but primarily to study the Italian language.

It was an exciting time in her life, as it is for most her age, made all the more thrilling by being away from her home in the South London suburb of Coulsdon, living and studying in a foreign country. She made friends right away, and enjoyed the pizza and kebab restaurants that are scattered about the hillside town of Perugia. Although known as quiet and studious, she also enjoyed the nightlife that was accentuated by loud bars and dancing, but stayed away from the citys growing drug scene. She had quickly found a place to stay, in a charming little hillside villa overlooking lush foliage in the valley below, which she shared with three student housemates. However, instead of it all being the time of her life, no one could have envisaged particularly Meredith and her family that the move to Italy would end in a tragedy of the greatest magnitude, and that she would return home to her grieving family inside a coffin.