Tabloid's mistaken story makes Knox guilty

LONDON, Oct. 5 (UPI) -- A British tabloid ran a prepared-in-advance "Amanda Knox guilty" story on its Web site, complete with a colorful description of Knox "sobbing uncontrollably."

The Daily Mail was one of a number of newspapers and broadcasters in Britain to report wrongly that an Italian appeals court had upheld Knox's murder conviction, The Guardian said. The Guardian, one of the country's most respected papers, made the same mistake, based on an incorrect translation of the verdict.

But the Mail went farther, running a full story that included quotes from the prosecutors, who said "justice has been done." In fact, the Italian court threw out the guilty verdicts against Knox, a former University of Washington student, and her Italian ex-boyfriend, Rafaelle Sollecito.

"As Knox realized the enormity of what Judge Hellman was saying she sank into her chair sobbing uncontrollably while her family and friends hugged each other in tears," the Mail reported Monday.

In fact, the appeals court found Knox and Sollecito were convicted on unreliable evidence of killing Meredith Kercher, a Leeds University student who shared a house with Knox in Perugia.

The Mail reported that Knox and Sollecito would be on suicide watch for the next few days. Knox arrived in Seattle Tuesday, where she was reunited with her family.