Tuesday, January 05, 2010
The Vicious Destruction of Curt Knox, The Father
Posted by Danusunt
Picture Amanda Knox’s father, Curt Knox, as he nervously adjusted his posture when a cameraman snapped, “Sit up straight,” before Curt’s first appearance on global television.
He may have been in a corporate video or two in the past, perhaps some family videos. But this was big time. People behind and around the cameras weren’t smiling. The feeling of all business must have felt less than sympathetic.
Imagine how someone from make-up yanked hairs out of Curt’s nose, and how a snotty producer cut Curt off mid sentence to bark, “Try not to say, ‘Ummm’ so much.” In the background imagine someone saying, “Curt, that LA lawyer lady is on the phone again.”
Thrust into the spotlight, things escalate from embarrassing to overwhelming to Gloria Allred pretty quickly. But the image of Curt Knox squirming under the lights and in front of the cameras cannot be so nightmarish as what happened to Curt Knox next. Curt Knox, the father.
His reflex would come as it would to most fathers, to protect his little girl’s reputation; and, himself being a VP at Macy’s, perhaps a little bit of his own. As it would play out, by throwing himself into the fray, he was putting himself in the witness stand, and would either be deemed a reliable, or an unbelievable witness.
From the beginning, Curt Knox appeared a little disheveled as he laid out the boilerplate. ‘She just couldn’t do this. She doesn’t have it in her,’ he’d say.
He and his ex wife, a math teacher from West Seattle Vanity Fair writer Judy Bachrach found ‘perpetually baffled,’ would drone on and on about how perfect and innocent Amanda is. Then relatives, then friends, then friends of friends, and ultimately people pulled off Seattle streets, waxed poetically about the outgoing little girl who’s favorite piece of clothing was a slightly rusted My Little Pony chastity belt.
But imagine Curt’s face as he listened to someone tell him, “Amanda boned seven dudes, one of them at least on a train, and another, that Raffaele guy, a couple hours after she met him. And it’s gone public. It’s everywhere.”
Jesus. To hear that about his own daughter after sticking his neck out proclaiming she is as pure as snow that’s yet to hit the ground. How awful to learn you’ve been made a liar by your own flesh and blood, and that daddy’s little girl has been whoring around.
And with not even the chance to recover, there on video for the world to see was his little darling, fingering lacy panties in a trendy store, as that Raffaele guy told her, loud enough for others to hear, that the sex that night was sure to be pretty good. Some may recognize that as a common West Seattle girl’s need after a roommate’s murder. But most wont, least of whom, the Italians.
Curt was a VP at Macy’s, and held a position whereby honesty and integrity were key. Of course this didn’t look good for his daughter. But what about Curt? Curt the man? Curt the father? Curt the VP? Curt the guy who makes his living with a perceptive awareness of everything around him. What kind of impact did this have on his standing as a reliable character witness? How does a guy make eye contact after something like that?
I imagine Curt walking the halls of his office, wanting to yell at his fellow muckity mucks, “Your daughters are boning just like mine. Don’t kid yourself goddammit!”
But he stayed the course, again and again selling his daughter’s innocence into the camera, playing up her honesty, and perhaps playing the smart card in sticking to his own story. VPs don’t blink. Part of me admired him for that. But the majority recognized the great mistake he was making.
Now imagine Curt’s face as he listened to someone tell him, “Your daughter keeps telling different stories of where she was. She was at that Raffaele’s house smoking drugs. Or, no, she was at home, smoking drugs. She slept in late, no, she was at the store first thing buying cleaning supplies. No, she listened as a black man raped and murdered that girl, and fingered her boss as the guy. They arrested him . . . oh, they let him go. He’s going to sue for defamation. Now she says she was so high she can’t remember anything.”
To make matters worse, the nighttime tabloid shows found the story juicy enough to pour their hearts and wallets into, and it was everywhere in HD, starring the crazy lying tramp American girl with multiple stories and a myriad of personalities. And emerging as the man who knew her least was Curt Knox the father, who by now was clearly an unreliable witness.
The harder Curt Knox worked to proclaim his daughter’s innocence, the harder she worked to refute it. Curt and his ex wife said she got along great with her roommates. Truth was the roommates found her annoying, and dirty. Curt claimed she was loved by all, but many in Perugia called her troia, or bitch. The more they painted their daughter a victim, the more came out that they didn’t know their daughter at all - the exceptional Ugly American.
It bordered on perjury.
Curt and his ex wife claimed there was anti-American sentiment. And if there wasn’t, they were working hard to get it. Or somebody was. And they had lots if help, mostly from knee-jerk dirt hustlers at small Seattle stations, to the larger-than-lifes at the mega corps. That kind of help turned Amanda Knox the poor little confused victim, into Amanda Knox, the big screw you from all of here at USA dot com.
It didn’t take long for the wolf effect to happen. The louder they cried their faith in their daughter, the louder was Amanda’s response with shame, the louder and clearer appeared her guilt in an Italian court. It got to the point that if Curt Knox and his ex wife said one thing, the immediate opposite was looked forward to with great anticipation. And of course, Amanda delivered.
I imagine Curt Knox roaming the halls wanting to scream, “What are you looking at! You know what your daughters are doing at their dorms, don’t you! You know what your daughters are doing in their sororities! They’re drinking! They’re smoking! They’re FUCKING!” And I can’t blame him. I imagine him kicking and punching and throwing things through doorways and out windows. I imagine his rage to be unfathomable, the pain so far out of reach. And I for one would hold his hand through the worst of it, Amanda’s guilt and all.
It wasn’t surprising when Americans started whining about the state of Italian CSI. Specialists started cashing checks as on-camera experts on criminal investigations. They went so far as to point at grainy video and cry foul at how things were handled. Americans have grown so fond of the sexy edgy forensic crime dramas that these people had no problem feeding hysteria to the bloodthirsty masses that wanted lasers and massive glistening breasts and bulging slacks covering the scene as only Americans can do. No Horatio, no deal.
But Italians don’t see things the same way. I suspect the Italian prosecutors viewed the defense’s cry about DNA evidence as a stroke of good luck, and knew they’d won the case when America at large started chanting it. The louder the cry, the greater the insult to the Italian process. In reality Amanda had already hung herself with her mouth, but American pride continued to spit blood and snot into the face of Italian common sense. All of this was just gravy.
Maybe even Gloria Allred saw that and said, “Shit. She’s toast.” Maybe Curt should have taken her call.
At some point, someone somewhere made a different call, and suddenly the American media that had immediately smelled a shit-stinking rat in Amanda Knox, was now smelling and selling sweeter and more patriotic, if not nationalistic bunny farts. On every channel were gossip-level shows pandering to the American idiot that the Euro wolves had captured their purest stray lamb, and a team of the brave should go get her.
I kept waiting for Curt Knox to at least go silent on the advice of a qualified PR agent. Silent like the murder victim’s family. Silent like that Raffaele’s father, a prominent Italian doctor who for sure could have raised quite the stink in his own country if he felt there were foul play. But you’ll notice that Raffaele’s father, Curt Knox’s counterpart, was nowhere to be found in the American media.
But Curt and his ex wife kept whoopin’ it up like Slim Pickins at a chili cook-off that had run out of spoons. Many called it a coordinated media campaign, which included an impotent Larry King handing over the national stage to Curt and his ex wife to increase focus on that which, in the end, was doing more harm than good. Great for the ratings, bad for their daughter. It was as if some Hollywood screw was walking the two of them over every possible mine in the field just for giggles and grins.
CNN reported that Della Vedova, a member of Team Knox, reminded the jury of its obligation to church law, and to be “morally certain of their decision.” Again, probably another mistake, being that the majority of Amanda Knox’s transgressions had been of the moral nature. She had proven herself a liar, had bared false witness, and had clearly established herself a Jezebel. By continuously singing Amanda’s praises, Americans more so crucified her as they did come to her rescue.
There would be better judges to evoke than they of the Church. Perhaps Horatio Caine. But anyway, that’ll be 486,987 Hail Marys and 25 years in what is a pretty nice prison by any standards.
I imagine Curt Knox now, a burned-out tree trunk of a man sitting alone in his car in his VP parking spot. The wipers have stopped in the middle of the windshield and he stares at them with squinted eyes. He’s had the screaming matches with his ex wife over what she must have done to fuck up his daughter. He’s had the fights with the lawyers who couldn’t put a stop to it. He’s had the hugs and sobs with the foreign diplomats who really aren’t going to go to bat on this one. But deep inside, his anger rests on something he just can’t lash out at.
Amanda Knox had left home on Daddy’s dime no doubt, with a farewell to be remembered - “peace out suckers, loves Amanda.”
How does Curt Knox recover from something like that? Curt Knox the man. Curt Knox the father. Curt Knox, the sucker.
Posted by Danusunt on 01/05/10 at 06:06 AM in Defendants in court, Amanda Knox, The officially involved, Hoaxers from 2007, Knox-Marriott PR
Comments
Wow. Not only well-written, but a really interesting angle.
I agree that there have been times that I’ve almost sympathized with Curt, with that whole “Bambi-in-the-headlights” look on his face.
Thanks Danusunt
Posted by nashvilletn on 01/05/10 at 03:45 PM | #
It is very interesting indeed. But what Curt and Edda and their PR firm achieved in Seattle is totally unbelievable:
http://www.seattlepi.com/local/413745_knox04.html
and on the city level:
Posted by Hungarian on 01/05/10 at 07:21 PM | #
“Thrust into the spotlight, things escalate from embarrassing to overwhelming” Yeah, I think things escalated for his daughter too.
“as he laid out the boilerplate.” Uh, ... are you saying the boilerplate was untruthful?
“Amanda boned seven dudes” I’ve not followed the facts concerning her love life and I’m not at all certain that anyone reading the newspapers has been following the facts either, but seven is not really a high number at all.
“that daddy’s little girl has been whoring around” Yikes!! I didn’t know that. She had worked long hours for low wages and low tips in Seattle, what made her start turning tricks in Perugia? The Italian sunshine?
“fingering lacy panties in a trendy store” Well, thats how girls buy panties isn’t it.
“the sex that night was sure to be pretty good.” Who heard this? I’ve not seen a transcript. Does one exist?
“as a girl’s need after a roommate’s murder” I thought it was a girl’s need after the police confiscation? Was that ever established in any testimony?
“she listened as a black man raped and murdered ” I thought Guede claimed the sex was consentual and that he didn’t murder her.
“that girl” Her name is Meredith.
“and fingered her boss as the guy” Does “escalation” include lengthy interrogation?
“He’s going to sue for defamation” Young girls should have more courage when being slapped by Italian cops.
“Curt and his ex wife said she got along great with her roommates.” Her computer’s emails would have been good evidence of whether that statement was true or not. The Italian police destroyed that evidence rather than present it in open court.
“the roommates found her annoying, and dirty” ALL roommates are dirty and annoying at times.
“the exceptional Ugly American.” As opposed to the exceptional Brutal Cop?
Posted by FoolsGold on 01/05/10 at 07:26 PM | #
Actually the Italian word “troia” translates into “slut” in English, not really into “bitch”.
In that respect I’m sure she was indeed loved in Perugia, at least by the guys.
Posted by Commissario Montalbano on 01/05/10 at 08:10 PM | #
My first thought was WTF? However eye-opening this may be and however much I may be in agreement, this article is poorly written and in poor taste. It could have been written tastefully to prove the point.
By the way FoolsGold 7 is not a high number if we’re talking about a year but, if we’re talking about a few weeks? LOL!! Yes, this is over the top behavior. Plus, she was never hit, and he attorneys never addressed it, period.
Posted by tigger34 on 01/05/10 at 09:12 PM | #
I do not feel exagerated sympathy for the Knoxes for many and many more reasons.
However, it was a horrible way for them to find out some disturbing truths about their daughter. They keep saying that Amanda could not have killed because “this is just not the Amanda we know”.
But the Amanda they knew wasn’t doing most of the things they found out, anyway… I am sure they would have sworn that she was sexually wise and demure, had been “tipsy” one or twice only, etc…
It is such a destruction for them too. I do not like the way they fight and the noise they are doing, but they look like bees in a upside down glass, don’t they?
Posted by Patou on 01/05/10 at 10:59 PM | #
1/5/09
Danusunt, you are perceptive and smart. I agree with some of your thoughts about Curt Knox. I could give you a list of “why I like him, why I don’t.”
I agree with much of what you said, but please soften the rough edges. In other words, tone it down. I need to do the same, my last post about sociopaths was disjointed. I had my claws out. I had been reading scandal headlines and it had been a bad influence on my psyche.
I hope we can all keep soome respect in our comments. That’s why I like TJMK. Other sites are just 4-letter words and total malice. I can’t face them long.
We all have a beast that tries to escape our intellect’s control. Tame him a bit more. He’ll serve you better. Ardor is good, but let’s help each other stay in safe boundaries.
Sometimes we get a bit too colorful to make a point and spill the paint. BTDT
Don’t get discouraged, you have a lot to offer. It’s good to share and react. I appreciate the good parts of your post and have gained insight into my own. I’d like to think we are all on the Kerchers’ side however we word it.
Posted by Hopeful on 01/05/10 at 11:16 PM | #
Personally, I think this story needed to be colorful, to describe a colorful man.
Did anyone see Mr. Knox in action after the verdict? He shoved a cameraman.
May we be reminded of how most of corporate America felt about us - the mortgage crises, the big bonuses….
Let’s not forget, when someone asked Mr. Knox if he will appeal the verdict, his response was, “hell yeah.”
Just like any other case, Amanda’s background should be examined and made public. People fail to realize the important facts arise from this - both parents worked. Mr. Knox a VP, with the economy in the state it’s in, no doubt, long hours. Mrs. Knox a school teacher, no doubt, work will be brought home. Amanda has younger sisters, with this in mind, it could be said, she probably had to take responsibility for her younger siblings while parents were at work.
No. There’s nothing wrong with both parents working. However, this tend to be the number one complaint with kids; they want more time with their parents. Most kids say they’d rather spend time with parents over toys, and things. Then look at the the divorce of both parents. That’s another thing that affect children, divorce.
I don’t think there’s a way to write a story on this guy to sugar-coat it. This is probably due to his behavior on camera - and I’m thinking on camera, this is a lighter side of his behavior.
Posted by annjell on 01/06/10 at 01:04 AM | #
I don’t think this post is over the top. It actually made me feel more sympathetic to Curt Knox. He at least can be forgiven for defending his daughter. The rest of the FOA are despicable as far as I’m concerned. Why? Because they keep turning Amanda Knox into the victim rather than Meredith Kercher.
Where I disagree with Danusant is the suggestion that the verdict against AK and RS was somehow influenced by the media. We have to wait for the jury’s report, but I suspect that they were convicted on the overwhelming evidence that they must both have been involved.
Posted by CarlosNL on 01/06/10 at 01:35 AM | #
It’s interesting how after a lengthy opine about the backlash of Curt Knox’s failed sanitizing efforts, I see further cries to sanitize from a number of you. That’s 24-karat irony.
Let’s start with Fool, who went to great efforts to sanitize my words. “I’ve not followed the facts concerning her love life…” she says. I’m assuming she has, based on her familiarity with panty shopping.
I didn’t say anything about love. We’re not dealing with love. We’re talking about sex. Fool’s confusion on the subject was an effort to sanitize Amanda, and make a sexually deviant personality easier to swallow, even par, even innocent. That’s just how we American girls roll! Giggle.
Ironically, it was Amanda’s confusion between sex and love that caused Curt’s great shame, and really explained a lot about her profile, and motive. Confuse sex and love, which Amanda clearly did, and it’s all over but the crying. Ask any psych.
(And Fool… 7 partners?! At 20 years old? Not that bad? Wow, who are you partying with?)
I could go on, but it would be shooting fish in a barrel, and unfair to those who never really thought about it. It’s not your fault. A great majority of the population is protected from so much through the sanitizing lenses of the media.
Nobody sugar coated anything for Meredith. And if you’ve forgotten, this site is about murder and pouring blood, pleas for help, rape, and suffocation. FOA is working incredibly hard to sanitize so much, that when they are done, Meredith will have never bled at all. In fact, there she is, playing paddy cake with Amanda.
CarlosNL, I tried avoiding making such a reference, that the verdict was affected by the media. If I failed, I apologize. That was not my intent, and thank you for pointing it out.
Posted by Danusunt on 01/06/10 at 02:06 AM | #
Oh, I agree with your post Danusunt. Without a doubt. There will be no way that the FOA can sanitize it, period. What I object to is the wording. While I believe this is not the most tactful and well spoken family, I believe you could have gotten your point across using less teenage slang such as boning and “dude”. Other than that, your points were well made. I am sure the FOA will seek them out and form a rebuttal 😊
Posted by tigger34 on 01/06/10 at 03:49 AM | #
For a long time I’ve thought about Amanda’s parents in this, especially Curt Knox. I have tried to remain as “neutral” as possible as to the innocence or guilt of Amanda. Until we hear the judges decisions for arriving at the guilty verdict, we will never know for sure.
But I have to admit that to me she appears to be a lying, manipulative, scheming, arrogant, self centered, selfish “individual” to say the very least, and going from my own observations of Curt Knox, it appears to me that when it comes to Amanda “the apple did not fall far from the tree”. It appears she has had a “perfect” role model in her father. I think what Danusunt has written, however difficult it may be for some people, is a very accurate description of Mr. Knox. He and his daughter are the author’s of their own “misfortune ” from start to finish. I am glad that Danusunt has said a lot of things that needed to be said.
What Danusunt has said has said is actually probably true - and as the saying goes “the truth is often bitter” - but it is the truth. I have never had the slightest bit of sympathy for Curt Knox, but what Danusunt has written has made me a little sympathetic towards him. He is in a very bad situation and he is doing his level best to rescue it - it must be heart breaking for him - but it is far more heart breaking for Meredith’s family, and all of this continued action is only serving to torture and agonize Meredith’s family even further.
Personally I hope that money and pressure on behalf of the Knoxes does not “buy” what they want. If she’s innocent we’ll have a better understanding after the judge issues his report, and if she’s guilty - hopefully she will get exactly what she deserves. As everyone knows there are no winners in this.
I just wish it was over for Meredith’s family’s sake, so that they can hopefully begin to heal, and gain some closure in this, in so far as these things are possible in a situation like this. By the way I am not spouting hate, I am merely giving my honest opinion - And I totally agree this website should not lower itself to the “drivel” that is being spouted on the Amanda Knox websites. I hope we can all remain dignified, and to this end, I hope what I have written is.
Posted by Paddy5000 on 01/06/10 at 03:52 AM | #
Thanks Danusunt.
I enjoyed your article. No need for sugarcoating. The Knox Mellas family have been disgusting in their distortion of the truth. Meredith Kercher was murdered by Amanda Knox. Case closed.
Posted by Jumpy on 01/06/10 at 04:19 AM | #
Curt Knox wants to project Merideth Kercher’s traits onto his own daughter.
Posted by stevema14420 on 01/06/10 at 04:25 AM | #
Kurt Knox is the one person from the AK team that does have my sympathy. He is just doing what every father would do. The first picture I ever saw of him, carrying a big bag with his daughters belongings from the house I found heart breaking. His life has been a living hell.
I would only want to give him the advice not to use the services of PR companies. Just focus on the legal fight with the best team of defense lawyers and cultural anthropologists specialized in Italy.
The Knox, Mellas and Friends et. al. are victims of their own American culture, where manipulating the media can change the outcome of a trial, despite the use of a sequestered jury. Unfortunately for them their efforts only have had the opposite effect on the European observers of this case.
Their dollars would have been spend way better had they only paid a team of the best Italian defense lawyers possible and maintained a low level.
Posted by saskia on 01/06/10 at 04:51 AM | #
I appreciate this article has its place. I certainly agree with it. However I agree with the posters who have expressed it might be a little out of synch with the tone of TJMK. Thanks.
Posted by swigz on 01/06/10 at 05:28 AM | #
Way to stick up for yourself Danusunt…I enjoyed your post for what it was—a well-written piece of prose attempting to get into the head of a “colorful” man.
I think this site has probably the best cache of thought-provoking information available on this very confusing and sad court case, and I truly thank the hard work that goes into it, but the sugar coating of many posts and the, at times, pretense of some sort of familial relationship to Meredith and righteous indignation by some folks regarding others’ posts has bordered on weird.
Posted by nashvilletn on 01/06/10 at 03:36 PM | #
When Curt Knox engaged the services of the PR people, he was probably overwhelmed by the momentum generated therein. The man who rides a tiger can never get off. He seems to be fairly average in his responses to an abnormally taxing situation.
He displays all the instinctive belligerance of a man fiercely (and maybe blindly) protecting his young. The murder was not in the script and although he may be an unattractive character to many of us who post here, surely we can feel some compassion? He is frightened and broken and ashamed.
He avoids going into the minutiae of the case eg the phone calls etc because he knows they will not bear scrutiny. He has to engage with his estranged wife and her maverick partner whereas surely he would rather not. I do not attempt to compare any grief or stress that Knox and co are feeling to that of the Kercher family.
However to the PR people, Anne Bremner and FOA: “An error can never become true however many times you repeat it. The truth can never be wrong, even if no one hears it.” Mahatma Gandhi.
Posted by pensky on 01/06/10 at 04:43 PM | #
Gee thanks nashvilletn! That made us smile.
By the way reader emails so far are running 100% in favor of Danusunt’s line. It seems many cannot get comfortable with the fact that Curt Knox above all put the xenopohobic and slanderous PR campaign into motion which has done so much damage on so many levels, not least at the level of Seattle.
Several commenters have suggested that he has done only what he had to do and any other good father would have done the same. Really? We are unaware of any parallels to this. We also don’t see how it helped Amanda. It juiced her up to go on the stand - and her second day there was a real shocker.
Posted by Peter Quennell on 01/06/10 at 04:45 PM | #
VERY WELL SAID Paddy5000. I agree with almost everything you’ve written.
I realize that this article is about Curt Knox, but I would include Edda Mellas when placing blame. You wrote “But I have to admit that to me she appears to be a lying, manipulative, scheming, arrogant, self centered, selfish “individual†to say the very least, and going from my own observations of Curt Knox, it appears to me that when it comes to Amanda “the apple did not fall far from the treeâ€.
I think the lying, manipulative and scheming ways could very likely have come from Edda as well. I’m no expert, but it seems to me that she has been lying, scheming and manipuating from the time she landed in Perugia a few days after the murder of Meredith Kercher.
I too hope that money and pressure won’t influence the appeal decisions in this case. After cleaning and staging a crime scene Amanda and Rafaelle were still unanimously found guilty - hopefully they won’t have their sentences reduced.
Posted by Mama P on 01/06/10 at 04:56 PM | #
Papa Sollecito is not doing the same fuss, is he?
I also feel that the Knoxes/Mellas are doing more damage to their daughter than helping. Now they hired an American lawyer to “help” their Italian lawyers. How happy they must be… how easy their case has been made with all this “help” from America, indeed!
The Knoxes/Mellas are actually yelling “WE” are innocent, WE could not do such a thing (not seeing that our darling daughter needed help and grounding…). They are innocenting their family.
They are also putting their daughter in the absolute need to stick with her lies, as there is no turning back. Never have they said that they wanted to help her no matter what, which could have left a door open, no, they simply close their eyes and their conscience.
I find it an abomination that they keep saying that they will offer their condolences to Meredith’s family ONLY WHEN “proof” will show that their angel is innocent. “We got our daugther back, too bad for yours”
Posted by Patou on 01/06/10 at 04:59 PM | #
This is only my second post on this site. But I do read very regularly. I wouldn’t endorse censorship of Danusunt’s post—it’s up now and there is no point in taking it down—but I agree with the perceptions of people who find it to be in counterproductively poor taste.
Given how influential Amanda Knox’s family has been in using the media to shape public perceptions of the trial, it is certainly useful to try to understand more about how the situation has evolved from their perspectives. But I don’t see how the characterization of Knox as “boning” men—even if intended as a parody of a crude version of how Knox is talked about in private—contributes to that goal.
In fact, if anything the post actually made me want to come to Knox’s defense on the feminist grounds that when college-age men sleep around, that’s commonly seen as perfectly natural, but when college-age women sleep around, they are still viewed as “sluts.” I’m not saying that Danusunt was endorsing the view of Knox as a “slut,” but I think the tone of the post keeps that kind of misogynistic rhetoric circulating in the discourse about this trial—and there is a ton of that kind of language out there on other websites. It’s possible to imagine how Curt Knox felt when confronted with evidence of his daughter’s alleged promiscuity without making this website sound like a cheap porn magazine.
The upshot, in short, is that the post back-fired with me because it substituted tawdry sensationalizing language for a cogent analysis of fraught issues such as how fathers are socially constructed to experience “ownership” interest in the sexuality of their daughters. I am, however, not a Knox supporter. I haven’t seen all the evidence, but my perception based upon what I have read is that Knox, Sollecito, and Guede are all guilty as charged in a court of law with murder (and related crimes). Although I admire the emphasis of the Italian penal system on rehabilitation, I can’t help feeling that they should have been sent to prison for life.
Posted by btnmth on 01/06/10 at 08:04 PM | #
Thank you Mama P. I agree with you totally about Edda Mellas, and as you say as the article was about Curt Knox I just wanted to try to concentrate on him. To me, and please forgive me for saying this but these people, Mom, Dad, and Amanda come across to all open minded, right minded people as the ” obKNOXious ” Knoxes ( please forgive the mispelling ).
For me Curt has come across as an ill mannered, ignorant, arrogant, pig like man ( I am not trying to be personal - I am just saying exactly what I see ). The repercussions of which are clearly visible in Amanda ( and yes I’m sure Edda Mellas has played no small role in making Amanda who she is today ).
Curt, Edda, and their supporters have tried to bully and intimidate their way to get the result they want. They have and are trying to bend, facts, reality, and of course the truth to suit the result they want. They clearly don’t care about truth or justice, and they clearly have no regard whatsoever for Meredith and her family. To them this is clearly about winning - the end justifies the means - regardless of who they hurt or how many lives they destroy in the process. This is like a cold hearted business maneuver to them. They want this over for themselves at any cost to someone else, as long as they get the result they want.
If money, ” bullying and intimidation ” can ” win ” this - then it will be a very sad day indeed. From the Knoxes standpoint this appears to have nothing whatsoever to ” truth, justice, honesty, and integrity “. If their daughter is guilty, then they must KNOW at this stage. So if she is guilty - then they are equally guilty, as not only are they covering up for a murderer, but they are basically ” raping and brutally murdering Meredith Kercher again, and torturing, and brutalizing the Kerchers in the most agonizing, disgusting and painful way imaginable over and over again.
f Amanda is guilty then she definitely is not the only sick Knox. I just hope Italy has the courage to do the right thing - stand on it’s own two feet - and reach whatever decision it feels is honest and just, and ignore those obKNOXious Knoxes and their supporters, no matter how many, how wealthy, or how powerful they may be. Justice should be for everyone including you, me, and yes Meredith Kercher.
Posted by Paddy5000 on 01/06/10 at 08:42 PM | #
Curt Knox was the one eager to point out that Amanda had been a “late bloomer”, a tomboy who’d had one “lite” romantic encounter in high-school,and had not been exposed to “scary people”.
She sure rapidly made up for lost time as soon as she was far enough away from her moral anchor (thus the difference between her West Seattle and Perugia personas - not geography, but distance from home.) Kid sis, Deanna, said that she took it upon herself to give Amanda pointers about men.
Four daughters are plenty for any dad to worry about (although, normally, it’s worries over violence that might befall them, not such a thing perpetrated by them).
Deanna was there to chaperone Amanda and The Man on the Train (I don’t know which of the sisters photographed him, in less than suitable public attire as I understand it) but somehow I doubt this little tete a tete was part of the report back to Omi Huff about the journey from Uncle’s in north Germany to Perugia. Good fathers don’t want their daughters to be sluts, but they can’t necessarily control that outcome. I think he is either being or playing the naif. I feel bad for the younger sisters.
Free sexuality does not have to be harmful, but it does require responsibility. I was the result of an extremely unlikely encounter between two highly mismatched (but for IQ ) individuals. I love my dad, and I know I gave him a hard time when in high-school, but he never had to come and bail me out. My grandfather did not bail my mother out. She was a human avalanche, around whom I learned to ski swiftlly. But parents can teach very effectively by bad example. Thus am I tee-total, and drug-proof.(And I don’t drive, so i can’t even play designated driver to my tipsy friends)
If Curt Knox is unable even to accept the fact that his daughter was free with her body, ( a fact which most American dads of women - yes WOMEN would everyone please remember she is legally an ADULT - her age should be prepared for, how on earth could he begin to accept the notion that she could be violent to the point of killing or condoning murder?
Posted by mimi on 01/07/10 at 06:15 AM | #
Here are a few examples of recent cases where parents have defended their murderous offspring, despite overwhelming evidence.
George and Cindy Anthony insisted Casey was totally innocent and were obstructive and aggressive when challenged.
Scott Peterson’s mother took the stand in his defense and attempted to explain away his guilty behaviour that made police suspicious of him in the first place (sounds familiar).
Neil Entwhistle’s mother couldn’t believe he was a cold-blooded killer of his wife and baby and maintained “The evidence points to Rachel murdering our grandchild and then committing suicide” even though his computer records showed that days before the murders he had been googling ‘how to kill somebody’ and his dna was all over the scene.
Seth Cravens’ parents maintained his innocence throughout the trial despite guilty pleas entered by his 4 co-suspects. He was part of a murderous crew who took the life of an upcoming surfer.
Thanks Peter, for maintaining an always fascinating and respectful site with many amazing contributors.
Posted by pensky on 01/07/10 at 07:18 AM | #
Consider this alternative scenario for a minute:
A father finds that his eldest daughter, the one he’s always adored first and best, has done some things that would shame any father. He discovers sexual misbehavior, drug use, ... and possibly worse.
Slowly, he has to wrap his mind around something: that his daughter is not who he thought she was for the past 20-odd years. She’s grown in a different direction. She’s found a defective way of dealing with reality, with her problems, her anger, her depression.
He has to face the person she’s become.
Even worse, he’s starting to realize there is real EVIDENCE that she is guilty of a heinous crime.
It’s not easy. He has nightmares. Even worse are the nights he can’t sleep, thinking of all the ways he went wrong in raising her. SHOULD he have stayed with her shrew of a mother? SHOULD he have gone to every single school play, every single soccer game?
But how could he? His job took too much time—he needed to pay child support, after all! That woman wouldn’t let up on THAT, would she? NEVER!
Every single holiday he missed with her, every single soccer game or school event he missed weighs heavily on him. Is that how she went bad?
He seeks help: therapy, friends, even meds. He’s going to do whatever it takes to get through this, to help his daughter.
But gradually, slowly, he comes to realize something: There is only one true way to help his daughter.
And that’s to do something he’s never done with her. The REAL way in which he’s failed her over the years. To help her deal with reality. With the truth.
He sees the evidence. He knows she’s somehow not being truthful. He knows, at some level, that she must be involved. He’s not sure how, but he knows there is too much evidence to dismiss it all.
So he gets strategic. Talks to a few really smart lawyers—who know Italian as well as American law. They advise him to cover all the bases. Yes, work for acquittal. But keep a Plan B in the background.
If worse comes to worst, the truth must be faced, reality cannot be avoided.
She may finally have to face her demons. She may finally have to face who she truly is and what she’s been involved with. Because that’s the only way to obtain early leave in this system. And early parole is the only possible answer at that point.
Amanda needs to finally live in the real world. Curt sees that finally. He sees she must acknowledge guilt, at some level, in order to have a future life, in order to be released before he’s too old to be her father still. Before he’s so old, he might even be dead.
That’s when he tries to get his daughter the help she needs. It’s not easy, behind prison walls. But there are doctors there who can help her, can help her face the truth.
Then he lets go of the PR campaign. The spin doctors fall away. The talking heads matter little anymore.
All that matters now is that his daughter face the truth, get help, get better, and get released.
THIS is the picture of the future I hope for Curt Knox.
And the only hope I see for Amanda.
Posted by Earthling on 01/07/10 at 08:34 AM | #
That’s pretty much it Earthling… all of us make mistakes/
Most of us who sidetrack down party lane early in life are fortunate enough to get a wakeup call and face some life-changing consequences before our actions lead to something so unchangeable that no act of contrition can fix it.
Of those, 90% shape up and move on with productive adult lives. Amanda’s prior actions either didn’t warrant such a wakeup call or simply didn’t get one. Doesn’t really matter at this point, because the how’s and why’s don’t raise the fallen.
The Kerchers can finally begin to let their daughter rest; hopefully for Curt Knox, the appeal will come and go quickly, and he can get on with letting his daughter go as well, and once again detach himself from Edda.
Posted by nashvilletn on 01/07/10 at 04:06 PM | #
It has crossed my mind a few times that Curt Knox’s PR campaign might not only be about getting a “not guilty” verdict for his daughter, but also a way of ensuring some sort of future for her when she is finally released from prison (this apparently could be after as little 10 or 11 years) and, presumably, deported back to the US.
If the perception exists among many Americans that she is actually innocent, she would at least have a chance of having some kind of career, or at least some media interest if she tries to sell her story.
Posted by CarlosNL on 01/07/10 at 05:47 PM | #
Regarding Pensky’s post - there are countless cases of parents, friends and families defending their loved ones, it’s almost expected. I would like to think I wouldn’t do that - just blindly support my daughter despite any evidence that comes up. I have two very young daughters, if one was ever in such trouble, would I be willing to really look at things objectively?
I think Curt Knox also has a guilty consciousness. He left his two older daughters when they were just babies, and not long after started another family. No matter how much he adored his oldest daughter, he did not play a part in her daily life and upbringing. He may regret that now, as another poster also mentioned.
Posted by Mechele on 01/07/10 at 10:54 PM | #
Danusunt,
Really enjoyed your post: “pane al pane, vino al vino”. I don’t think it diminishes this great site in any way.
Actually, a direct and frank post about the Knoxes was needed, you did a great job. Thanks
Posted by Nicki on 01/08/10 at 12:56 AM | #
Earthling,
Excellent post, and one that truly chooses the high road for all involved.
I couldn’t say it any better than you did.
But I may add that this strategy is not too different from that used in family interventions. These have proven very effective to rescuing the lives and souls of those who have fallen prey to the destructive powers of drug addiction.
Starling.
(ps: I’ve been looking for my ‘counterpart’, Earthling!)
Posted by Starling on 01/09/10 at 01:55 AM | #
Hey Starling! Love the name! Love the little birds, too. As my Dad used to, even though some people called them pests, LOL. I think you’re new, so welcome!!!
Thanks for the compliment, but I was just riffing off Danusunt’s great post!!!
And having read Paddy5000’s rip into Curt and Edda from yesterday elsewhere on this site (I think it’s under the Ted Simon post), I’m not sure Curt will ever get to the point that I was talking about. One can always hope, though.
Thanks to all for everyone’s perceptive comments. I learn so much on this site every day!!!
And Happy New Year to all!!!
Posted by Earthling on 01/11/10 at 04:40 PM | #
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