Is Amanda Knox a Psychopath? What the Hare Psychopathy Checklist Reveals

In an email to Judge Nencini, Amanda Knox declared,

“I am not a psychopath.”

But can we believe her? After all, psychopaths are pathological liars and Knox has been caught up in more than a few mistruths. One way to analyze whether or not Foxy Knoxy is a psychopath has been outlined in Dr. Kent A Kiehl’s book, The Psychopath Whisperer. Holding up the Hare Psychopathy 20 point checklist to Knox’s life, one may form a clearer understanding of whether or not Ms. Knox is a psychopath.

” . . . a little less than 1 percent of the general population, or about 1 in 150 people, will meet criteria for psychopathy. However, the number of psychopaths in prison is much higher than in the community because psychopaths tend to get themselves in trouble with the law. Studies indicate 15 to 35 percent of inmates worldwide will meet the criteria for psychopathy . . .” (The Psychopath Whisperer, Kent A. Kiehl, PhD Pg 35)

Dr. Kent A. Kiehl spent over seven years studying hundreds of violent offenders in a Canadian prison to assess which ones fit the profile of a psychopath. Identifying psychopaths is extremely important as they are much more likely to continue to commit more violent offenses when released from prison than other violent criminals. One of the methods Dr. Kiehl used in determining if an inmate was a psychopath was utilizing a Psychopathy Checklist.

“The 20 items of the Hare Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (Hare, 1991, 2003) are a clinical rating instrument and the gold standard for the assessment of psychopathy since 1991.” (The Psychopath Whisperer, Kent A. Kiehl, PhD Pg 46)

Below are the twenty characteristics which help to identify a psychopath:

1. Glibness/Superficial Charm
2. Grandiose Sense of Self-Worth
3. Need for Stimulation
4. Pathological Lying
5. Conning/Manipulation
6. Lack of Remorse or Guilt
7. Shallow Affect
8. Callous / Lack of Empathy
9. Parasitic Lifestyle
10. Poor Behavioral Controls
11. Promiscuous Sexual Behavior
12. Early Behavioral Problems
13. Lack of Realistic, Long-Term Goals
14. Impulsivity
15. Irresponsibility
16. Failure to Accept Responsibility for Own Actions
17. Many Short-Term Marital Relationships
18. Juvenile Delinquency
19. Revocation of Conditional Release
20. Criminal Versatility

While many criminals have these characteristics, a psychopath would have most of these faults displayed prominently in their personality and/or behavior. These characteristics would be found in many areas of their life, not just in a crime that they have committed.

In his book, Dr. Kiehl analyzed two famous killers, John Wilkes Booth and Charles Julius Guiteau. Booth shot and killed President Abraham Lincoln while Guiteau murdered President James A. Garfield. By analyzing these two assassins, the psychopathy list shows how one of these men was a psychopath while the other was not.

Using this checklist with what is known about Amanda Knox a similar analysis may be performed. Of course, only a trained psychiatrist is able to establish with certainty whether an individual is a psychopath or not and this writer is not a trained psychiatrist or psychologist. However, armed with the checklist and an abundance of information available about this heavily publicized woman, an analysis can be made. Is it possible that Knox could be a potential candidate for the psychopath ward? Or is she a garden variety killer?

Almost immediately after Meredith Kercher’s body was found, Amanda Knox was caught in the cross-hairs of the Italian paparazzi. A video of Knox kissing her then boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito went viral. Italian headlines proclaiming Knox as, “Evil incarnate, naive doll, puttana Americana (American whore), Nazi propagandist, angel-faced killer, psychopath, nymphomaniac, man-eater, a slave to drugs and sex …” filled the news stands. Meanwhile in the American media, it was a completely reversed tale, she was portrayed as a naive, inexperienced, young college coed who was being railroaded by corrupt Italian police and an evil prosecutor.

Two years after Meredith’s killing, Knox and Sollecito were convicted and sentenced to 26 years in prison. This did not slow the papers inquiries as Knox continued to be a big story even from behind bars. News shows continued to discuss her prison life including the size of her cell, how many visitors she received, how she planned to continue her studies and land a job in the prison library.

Knox and Sollecito appealed their 2009 conviction and were released in 2011 pending another appeal. Once free the two students cleverly manipulated the media in order to obtain the best image and income. Knox hired public relations firm Gogerty Marriott to help her craft her new sanitized life story. Knox silently removed herself from the public eye and with the help of her PR Firm, secured a four million dollar book deal. Sollecito followed suit and received one million for his book.

Almost two years after being released from prison, Knox released her memoir and began an interview tour. Living the life of a quasi-celebrity, she attempted to convince the world that she was completely innocent. However, her media appearances fell short of the desired outcome.

She seemed unable to say, “I didn’t do it, I’m innocent.” in her initial foray on television with Diane Sawyer. Instead she spoke cryptically of wanting to be reconsidered as a person and for the “truth to come out.” Ostensibly, this was supposed to happen with her book but she gave the impression that it was for others to figure out for themselves.

Using the massive amount of information available about Knox in the media, examples of her behavior within the structure of the psychopathy check list may provide some insight into the woman accused and convicted of murdering British exchange student, Meredith Kercher.

• Glibness/Superficial Charm

“One aspect of psychopaths’ behavior repertoire is that they often speak quickly, volubly, and interrupt the flow of the conversation frequently in an energized speech that observers can find difficult to follow and process in real time . . . The psychopath often comes off as quick witted, even likeable, but the listeners’ “gut” feelings detect that there is something not quite right about the individual. It takes practice to sift through the psychopathic speak.” (The Psychopath Whisperer, Kent A. Kiehl, PhD Pg 52)

Before Amanda Knox moved to Italy in 2007, she worked at a coffee shop. A former co-worker of Knox said about her:

“ ‘ . . .a lot of people are saying she is a sweet girl and they can’t believe she could have done such a thing. But, to be honest, I’m not surprised she is a suspect. Really. The first time I met her, when I got the job here, she asked me if I was Jewish. I told her I was. She then screamed: ‘My people killed your people,’ and began laughing hysterically. I didn’t know what to say. She just kept laughing about her Germans killing my Jews. After that, I did not like her. She really freaked me out.'”

Soon after arriving in Perugia Amanda spent some time with Meredith’s friends. Meredith had taken Amanda under her wing since she had no friends or family nearby and was struggling with the new language. However, Amanda did not make the best impression. As Meredith’s friend Sophie described it:

” . . . Amanda launched into something that was more of a monologue than a conversation – she talked ‘in your face’ Sophie thought, and exclusively about herself. Amanda spoke loudly about her passion for exotic teas – ‘I could talk about it all day’ she said – and then about her relationship with her boyfriend D.J.” (A Death in Italy, John Follain, Pg 28)

Other examples of Knox rubbing people the wrong way included disrupting people with her guitar playing when they were watching TV or having a conversation. Amanda would also begin singing loudly and unexpectedly which irritated people.

• Grandiose Sense of Self-Worth

Amanda Knox seems to have felt competitive with Meredith Kercher who was more fluent in Italian as she had much more experience living in Italy and studying Italian than Amanda. Meredith had starred in a music video a few weeks earlier. Four years later, after Amanda became infamous for the murder, she also starred in a music video. The two videos share many striking similarities.

Hours after police discovered Meredith Kercher’s lifeless body on November 2, 2007, her friends and acquaintances were called to the police station or Questera for questioning. Amanda assumed an air of importance during the shock and confusion when news of Meredith’s demise first reached everyone. Amanda claimed to have discovered Meredith’s body and reveled in the attention that she received in answering people’s questions. However, her sense of self-importance could not disguise her deception and callous behavior which turned others off to her.

Amanda included details that only the murderers would know such as the fact that Meredith died slowly from bleeding to death and that she was killed near her wardrobe or closet. Meredith’s body was discovered in the middle of the room, staged in a supine position. Investigators would later determine that Meredith had been killed in front of her wardrobe and moved to the middle of the room after death.

In court, one of Meredith’s friends, Jade Bidwell (JB) describes Knox’s behavior that evening at the police station to the prosecutor Giuliano Mignini (GM.) Below from court testimony regarding the events at the police station that evening:

“GM: And can you tell us what was the general attitude among those present?

JB: Most of them were upset, and crying. Most people were really upset but I noticed that Amanda did not seem very upset.

GM:Did you see Amanda talking on the phone?

JB:Yes.

GM:How did she seem? Did she have the same attitude even when she was talking on the phone?

JB:She was the same, she didn’t seem upset. . .

GM:Do you remember what she said on the phone and what she said to those present?

JB:I just remember a few things she said, I remember she said Meredith had been found in the closet. She also said later that she had found Meredith.

Another friend of Meredith, Robin Butterworth, relayed Amanda’s statements to the court in Italian,

“I remember it because I was upset. I was sitting on the floor and was Nathalie. Nathalie said: ‘Well, I hope at least that did not suffer.’ Then Amanda said: ‘What the fuck do you think? It ‘bled to death’”

Another example of Knox’s grandious notions showed while she was in prison. Amanda wrote about a dream she had.

“ . . . a dream about being greeted by President Barack Obama on her return to America. She writes: ‘I dreamed he welcomed me personally, shaking my hand, back to the States.’”

It is unknown how seriously Knox took her dream.

• Need for Stimulation

“This trait reflects an individual’s need for excitement and change. Psychopaths find many tasks boring and switch plans frequently.” (The Psychopath Whisperer, Kent A. Kiehl, PhD Pg 56)

Amanda’s big change for excitement was deciding to embark upon a year in Italy, alone at the age of 20, with no supervision of any kind. She did not know the language or culture and didn’t know anyone living there.

Before leaving for Italy Amanda received a ticket from police for throwing an out of control party at an off-campus house. She was also known to heavily indulge in drugs and sex.

“Gangs of students, high on drink and drugs, were hurling rocks into the road. Cars were swerving to avoid them. Debris littered the road. It was mayhem. . . Knox was fined $269 (£135) at the Municipal Court after the incident – Crime No: 071830624 – and warned that any repeat of her behaviour would lead to much stiffer punishment.”

Friends also described her drug abuse and promiscuity while attending the University of Washington before departing for Italy.

“’We all like to smoke a bit of pot and go out and get trashed at the weekends,’ one student who stayed in the same halls of residence as Amanda recalled last week. ‘But she really used drink and drugs. By that, I mean she didn’t just take stuff to get high and have fun. It was like she wanted to get away from herself, as if she had some sort of chemical imbalance she could only cope with by getting wasted.’”

Knox visited family in Germany the month before she moved to Italy. Her uncle had set her up with a prestigious job which Amanda failed to attend. She did not feel stimulated enough by the office atmosphere and chose to spend her time drinking wine and reading her books.

• Pathological Lying

“Nearly everyone lies at some point in life. We’re not concerned with the white lie or social lie here. Mendacity refers to pathological lying, often for no reason at all, even when facts can readily be checked.” (The Psychopath Whisperer, Kent A. Kiehl, PhD Pg 58)

Amanda Knox has been exposed for telling numerous lies before, during and after her imprisonment. She and Raffaele Sollecito have changed their stories numerous times. Sollecito is currently in court for defamation regarding the contents of his book.

While in prison, Amanda Knox would lie to the press about being a vegetarian for no apparent reason.

“There was an older woman in the cell with us whose mother brought salami and procuitto. Amanda loved it and then all of a sudden she decided to become vegetarian and announced it to all the journalists. But in the cell she carried on eating meat. So eventually we started teasing her: ‘So you’re vegetarian are you? ‘”

“When she was recently interviewed she said she wanted to help innocent prisoners but when she was in prison she showed no interest in the others.”

Amanda Knox lied in the police station when she told Meredith’s friends that she was the one to discover Meredith’s body. There was no reason to make that up and it was found to be untrue.

She also lied to the Postal Police when she told them that Meredith always locked her door and that she and her boyfriend had called the police (Carabinieri) already.

Knox claims that she was with Sollecito at his apartment the entire night of the murder. However, as recently as July 1, 2014 Sollecito held a press conference where he withdrew his alibi for Knox stating that she was not with him for the first part of the evening.

“Knox claims that one of the officers interrogating her hit her on the back of the head. During Knox’s testimony she was asked about this incident but was unable to give any detail. She can’t identify who hit her or even the gender of the officer she claims struck her. Amanda Knox made no formal complaint of abuse against the police nor did she complain of abuse when visited by representatives of the US Consulate two days after the interrogation. The police of course deny that they hit Knox or mistreated her in any way. Knox’s interpreter also testified that Knox was not struck or mistreated in any way. As such while it is impossible to make a definitive statement the probability that Amanda Knox is lying about being hit is vastly greater than the probability that she was hit. . . The fact that Knox can not even offer the vaguest of details about who struck her makes her claim completely unbelievable.”

Knox again lied in an interview with Chris Cuomo. When Cuomo mentioned the video of her kissing Raffaele outside the cottage immediately following the discovery of Meredith’s body. Knox corrected him stating, “He kissed me.” Knox claimed that Sollecito was comforting her. However, viewing the video it is readily apparent that Knox initiated the kissing with Raffaele and not the other way around.

Knox fibbed again in another interview with Chris Cuomo when she described her relationship with Meredith. Knox said,”In the month that we were living together we were becoming friends. A week before the murder we went to a classical music concert together. Like we had never fought.” This contradicts what Meredith told her sister Stephanie in the last week of October, just days before she was stabbed to death. “Meredith suddenly told her sister: ‘By the way, I quarrelled with my American flatmate.’ Meredith mentioned it in passing, and Stephanie didn’t think of asking what the row had been about.'” (A Death in Italy, John Follain, Pg 49)

Knox also lied when she accused an innocent man, Patrick Lumumba, of murdering Meredith Kercher. This lie, proven false, has tacked on more years on her prison sentence.

• Conning/Manipulation

“This item is designed to asses a person’s willingness to engage in all types of manipulation for personal gain at the cost of others. . .” (The Psychopath Whisperer, Kent A. Kiehl, PhD Pg 59)

On October 3, 2011, Knox and Sollecito were provisionally acquitted. They knew that this acquittal was not the final determination and that it would be appealed by the prosecution. They also knew that they faced another court date. However, this did not stop Knox from negotiating a multi-million dollar book deal with Harper publishers. At the time of her book deal in February 2012, it was reported by CNN.com:

“The filing of the appeal of her acquittal raised the question of whether an arrest warrant or extradition order could be issued for Knox if her acquittal is annulled, or if she could be made to serve the remainder of her initial 26-year prison term. But Knox’s family said in a statement issued through a spokesman that the prosecutors’ appeal was unwelcome, but no cause for concern.”

The New York Times reported,

” And her book, she told the publishers, editors and publicists who listened raptly, would be the true and unvarnished story of what happened in Perugia, Italy.”

However, the voluminous end product skipped over many important events including the day Meredith Kercher’s body was found. Author of Angel Face: Sex, Murder and the Inside Story of Amanda Knox, Barbie Latza Nadeau, reviewed Knox’s memoir. Nadeau writes,

” . . .she [Knox] glosses over that fateful night, reiterating the very vague and detail-free story that she and her co-accused former lover Raffaele Sollecito settled on after changing their stories multiple times.”

Amanda proceeded to go on a book tour claiming to be innocent shortly after her acquittal was annulled in March 2013 leaving her legally guilty. Knox apparently fooled the publishers and many others when she claimed to be shocked by the annulment when she knew all along that this was a distinct probability.

The day after the verdict an unrepentant Knox hit the interview circuit again on Good Morning America, to petulantly assert that the Italian courts got it all wrong. Knox published an official statement which began with,

“I am frightened and saddened by this unjust verdict. Having been found innocent before, I expected better from the Italian justice system.”

Knox neglected to mention that she was found guilty in the first trial and that her acquittal on appeal was not a final judgment. Furthermore, there was no double jeopardy as her guilty verdict would not be final until the Italian Supreme Court decided.

• Lack of Remorse or Guilt

“Another difference between psychopaths and other inmates is that psychopaths don’t get distressed while being in prison. Most inmates gets depressed when they get inside, and they find prison to be a stressful experience. A hallmark feature of a psychopaths’ disorder is that they don’t get bothered by much of anything. They don’t ruminate and they don’t get depressed.” (The Psychopath Whisperer, Kent A. Kiehl, PhD Pg 28)

This description of a psychopath’s experience in prison coincides with what a prison guard remembers from Knox’s behavior in Capanne prison in Perugia, Italy:

“Prison guard Angela Antonelli saw Knox every day for two years and says she became closer to her than most. Antonelli paints an intriguing portrait of her, saying she survived behind bars with an almost astonishing degree of self-possession, burying herself in writing letters, singing Beatles songs and playing a guitar.

But it did not, she says, endear the young American to her fellow inmates – who took to calling her the Ice Queen. ‘She never once cried when I was there,’ recalled the warder, speaking at her cluttered home in the city. ‘I often spent the nights there and looked into her cell through the hole to check on her and the others.

‘Other people ask for tranquillisers, cry, shout that they didn’t do it, that they’re in pain, that they can’t go on. “Why did this happen to me?” they shout. ‘Many prisoners bang their heads against the walls or even sew up their mouths, scream, vomit, cut their wrists. But she [Amanda Knox] showed no reaction.’ . . ‘Even when she was released, she didn’t say goodbye to a single person in the prison,’ recalled Antonelli. ‘In my opinion she showed no compassion or sensitivity to others. She just walked out. ‘Is that human?’”

• Shallow Affect

“Here we are concerned with the depth, quality, and stability of an individual’s emotional life. [American psychiatrist Hervey] Cleckley described the psychopath as showing absolute indifference to hardships, whether they are financial, social, emotional, physical, or other, which he readily brings upon others . . ” (The Psychopath Whisperer, Kent A. Kiehl, PhD Pg 62)

“ . . . psychopath’s never experience grief, honesty, deep joy, or genuine despair. . . psychopaths will readily express feeling, emotions, and affect, but the feelings and emotion are rather limited in strength and depth of feeling. The psychopath ‘knows the words but not the music.’” (The Psychopath Whisperer, Kent A. Kiehl, PhD Pg 62)

Dr. Kiehl also writes that psychopaths never worry about things to the point of becoming depressed. “Punishment real or threatened does not alter the psychopath’s behavior.” (The Psychopath Whisperer, Kent A. Kiehl, PhD Pg 63) For this reason they have a high rate of recidivism when released from prison. They usually continue their criminal lifestyle and hurt more people before returning to life behind bars.

Amanda Knox placed the blame on a completely innocent man for the murder of Meredith Kercher. She repeatedly accused her former boss, Patrick Lumumba on three separate occasions. Amanda never retracted her accusations. Fortunately, Lumumba was released after two weeks in jail when a witness came forward to provide him with an alibi.

As a result of Knox’s calunnia or false accusation, Knox was ordered to pay approximately $50,000 in damages to Lumumba. Seven years after the crime and even after amassing millions of dollars from her memoir, Knox has not paid anything to Lumumba that she has been court ordered to pay. She has never taken any responsibility for blaming Lumumba and instead tries to shift all of the blame onto the police. She has also never apologized or attempted to help Lumumba who lost his home and business due to the financial and emotional hardships from her false accusations.

In court when Knox was questioned by Patrick Lumumba’s lawyer, Knox again displayed a lack of compassion for the turmoil she caused.

“’Did you ever apologize to Patrick?’ Pacelli asked. ‘No,’ said Knox, passing up what seemed like a good opportunity to make the apology in front of the court.

‘Did you ever offer compensation to Patrick?’asked Pacelli. ‘Who, me?’ she laughed. ‘No.’”

In a multitude of interviews that Knox has given since the release of her 461 page memoir, she has shown little sympathy concerning Meredith Kercher’s murder. On the contrary, she seems to support others who attack the victim’s family on social media.

• Callous / Lack of Empathy

“She made her entrance like a Hollywood diva sashaying along the red carpet. Yet Amanda Knox was about to go on trial for a brutal murder. The 21-year-old nicknamed Foxy Knoxy smiled serenely as shook hands with her legal team after being led into the packed courtroom in Perugia, northern Italy.”

In court, Amanda was upbeat and smiling. Her lawyers had to advise her not to appear so happy being the center of attention in the courtroom.

Her statements in court reinforced her ‘ice queen’ epithet. Knox stated in court,

“More than anything, I thought they [the police] wanted to talk to me so much because I was the closest person to Meredith in the house. And then, I was the person who went back to the house and found the mess. I never thought I needed a lawyer or to talk to the Ambassador, because I thought, okay, I’ll just answer a couple of questions, and then I can get on with my life. . .”

Lawyer: “Do you think about her [Meredith Kercher] in your daily life, do you think about this friend who was with you in your house?

Amanda Knox: Yes, I remember her. But in the end, I only knew her for one month, and more than anything, I am trying to think how to go forward with my own life.”

In prison, it was noted by the guards that Knox never cried, lost sleep, or spoke of Meredith. Even in the letters she wrote to Raffaele she never mentioned “her friend” Meredith.

“In one, written a year after the murder, she writes: ‘The truth is in plain sight THEY HAVE NOTHING – only their twisted imaginations.’

There is no mention of life in jail, of other prisoners, or indeed of Meredith.”

When Knox and Sollecito were provisionally acquitted, the Kercher family requested that they keep a low profile and not seek to capitalize on murder. Instead Knox and Sollecito received millions of dollars by publishing books, soliciting donations, and giving paid interviews to media outlets around the world.

Amanda was aware that the Kercher’s believed she was involved in their daughter’s murder. However, during interviews Knox would insist that the Kerchers should read her book and expressed her wish to visit Meredith’s grave with the Kercher family. Knox even added a donation button for Meredith on her website. After public backlash, the Kercher’s attorney requested that she remove the link. Knox initially refused to remove it and demanded that the Kerchers contact her directly if they wanted her to remove it. Knox wrote, “I have been solicited by Mr Maresca [Kercher’s lawyer] to remove from my site anything I have done to honor her memory or show support to her family. My response was that no one but the Kercher family has any right to make such a request. As I await direct contact from the family of my murdered friend, I will continue to honor her and show support. Thank you for your support.’”

Knox not only left the message to the Kerchers above but also announced in the mainstream media that she had opened her official Twitter account on December 28, 2013, Meredith Kercher’s birthday. Dates are important to Knox who used dice in her music video The Mistral Blows to show the dates of her arrest and release from prison. All of this was perceived by many as Knox harassing the victim’s family.

To add insult to injury, Knox’s official account on Twitter is shown to be following abusive tweeters who have been harassing the Kerchers via social media for years. On her website she blogs and moderates comments, that is, no comment can be posted without her approval. Many comments on her blog have attacked the Kercher family.

• Parasitic Lifestyle

Since her release from prison in 2011, Amanda returned to school. There has been no word on whether she graduated or not. She has been comfortably living with various boyfriends with her income from her book advance, donations, and interviews. Recently it was widely publicized that she had obtained some part-time freelance writing work for a small newspaper in Seattle.

Knox is almost thirty years old and she has never held down a full-time job to support herself independently. How Knox will get by once her funds are depleted, remains to be seen. She will most likely be going back to prison which will preclude her from having to be financially self-sufficient.

• Poor Behavioral Controls

“As they got to know Amanda better, her flatmates began to find her increasingly bizarre and even irritating. Filomena thought Amanda was weird and too extrovert because she would suddenly jump up and do yoga exercises in the middle of a conversation, or start playing the guitar when the others were talking or watching T.V.” (A Death in Italy, John Follain, Pg 32)

“ . . . Amanda tagged along when Meredith and her friends spent an evening at the Velvet nightclub. Suddenly Amanda emptied her glass over the head of the disc jockey. She was promptly thrown out but Meredith sprang to her defence. ‘Poor girl, she’s on her own. We don’t know why she did it but she won’t do it again,’ Meredith promised the staff. Amanda was allowed back in.” (A Death in Italy, John Follain, Pg 34-5)

Amanda’s disturbing behavior at the police station immediately after Meredith’s body was found was witnessed by many people who gave statements in court. Amy Frost said,

“’Amanda put her feet up on Raffaele’s legs and made faces at him.’ . . .’Everyone cried except Amanda and Raffaele. They were kissing each other.” (Angel Face The True Story of Student Killer Amanda Knox, Barbie Latza Nadeau, pg 63)

A police officer from Rome, Edgardo Giobbi, described to the court, Amanda Knox’s peculiar behavior just before entering the crime scene where Meredith’s body was found:

” . . .I recall that I gave the plastic “spats” as I call them [i.e. shoe-covers] to Knox, and I put my spats on watching Knox to see if she had in fact put them on. Knox looked at me, and made that move, that famous move with swaying hips and pelvis, and saying “voila!” and laughing. I was left perplexed for a moment, since the situation, since I was about to make her enter inside an apartment where there were bloodstains, since we were on the site of a crime. There, something went and made a further piece [of the puzzle] for me then, regarding what the girls from the upper [storey] had declared, and regarding what my men had told me, that had seen this type of behaviour in the evening in the Questura.”

Amanda’s closest friend described Knox’s bizarre behavior,

“She just couldn’t sit still. You could be talking to her, and she would suddenly just get up and play guitar or read or just walk out of the room. Just like that. Some of her relatives thought her fidgetiness came from that fact that ‘she needed to be the center of attention.’ When the focus turned away from her, she just scooted right out.” (The Fatal Gift of Beauty, Nina Burleigh, pg 33)

Amanda also received notoriety for doing yoga stretches, splits and cartwheels at the police station while her boyfriend was being questioned.

“At one point, she got up to stretch her back. She did a back bend and then she bent forward and did a cartwheel and splits. Two of the police officers on duty told Amanda to stop. They told her that it wasn’t the right behavior for the situation.” (Angel Face The True Story of Student Killer Amanda Knox, Barbie Latza Nadeau, pg 65-66)

• Promiscuous Sexual Behavior

Amanda’s numerous sexual liaisons have been an oft-repeated subject by her supporters who claim that her sexually liberated ways were used against her in court. However, multiple indiscriminate sexual relations can also be a sign of mental illness.

While attending University of WA before her trip to Italy, Knox was said to have slept with numerous men as described by a former classmate.

“She [Amanda Knox] also developed a deep, abiding desire for casual sex. ‘She was – how can I put it – very friendly, outgoing and bubbly to all men she came into contact with,’ said Philip Setran, a medical student, who shared a dormitory with Amanda. ‘She had what in polite terms you’d call a lot of close male friends.’ Others were more blunt, calling her a ‘man-eater’. ‘

While in Italy, Knox slept with multiple men hours after meeting them. This was reported to have bothered her flatmate Meredith who would be the recipient of affection from these strange men Knox brought into their home. Knox also slept with a man she just met on a train on her way to Perugia. She also had sex with Raffaele the same night that they met and slept with another man while seeing Raffaele. Promiscuous behavior is a characteristic of psychopaths because they often equate sex with love.

• Early Behavioral Problems

Not much has been publicized about Amanda Knox’s early life. However there was some turbulence. Her parents divorced while her mother was pregnant with her younger sister. There were many court battles over child support payments and custody issues. When she was about 14 years old, her mother re-married a much younger man.

There was one incident when she was child where Amanda punched a boy who was bullying her sister.

“When she was seven, Amanda punished a bully who was picking on [her sister] Deanna, giving him a bloody nose.” (Darkness Descending The Murder of Meredith Kercher, Raul Russell and Graham Johnson, pg 62)

This illustrates her short temper and physically aggressive nature at a very early age. Later on she would channel her energies into sports.

• Lack of Realistic, Long-Term Goals

Amanda has defiantly announced that she will not return to Italy willingly if her guilty conviction is confirmed by the Italian Supreme court in March 2015. Knox told reporters,

“They’ll have to catch me and pull me back kicking and screaming into a prison.”

Beyond this, it is unknown what goals she has besides starting a family which is unlikely in prison.

• Impulsivity

Amanda did little research before moving to Perugia, Italy to study Italian. Unlike Meredith who was part of a prestigious ERASMUS exchange program, Knox arrived on her own with no place to live, very limited funds to support herself for a year abroad, and no student work visa. Knox found a place to stay and signed up for a couple of classes which were not accredited so could not be applied towards her degree. Amanda was simply winging it.

It was speculated by her friends at home that she wanted to live in Europe where it was legal to drink alcohol at 20 years of age. Perugia in particular was well-known for being a party town full of college students and drugs.

Soon after moving in, Amanda seemed to idolize one of her new roommates that she had only known a few days, Laura Mezzetti. Amanda pierced one of her ears eight times and the other ear three times copying Laura’s multiple ear piercings. “The speed with which Amanda had copied Laura’s piercings suprised Meredith. ‘Amanda’s a bit obsessed with Laura. She got herself exactly the same piercings Laura had, and they’ve only just met!’ Meredith told her friend Sophie.” (A Death in Italy, John Follain, Pg 31)

• Irresponsibility

Amanda did not display a strong work ethic. While her supporters brag that she worked three jobs to save up for her trip to Italy, her work performance in Europe was a fiasco.

In Germany she simply walked off a prestigious job for no apparent reason.

“Amanda’s uncle had lined up a two-week internship at the Bundestag . . .but after a few days at the Bundestag, things went wrong. Amanda walked out on her internship, leaving her uncle in an awkward situation of explaining why his American niece gave up such a hard-to-get opportunity.” (Angel Face The True Story of Student Killer Amanda Knox, Barbie Latza Nadeau, pg 12-16)

Amanda gave her explanation for abandoning the job, in all lowercase letters, on her MySpace page:

“i was in the way and they didn’t need me there anyway. i called in the next morning and that was that. then i walked and walked and walked and walked. all over berlin, for two whole days. it was great. i was supposed to pick up a bus on friday, so i spent wednesday and thursday wandering around berlin, seeing things, meeting people, drinking a glass of wine in a park near my apartment every night. fantastic. then i got back home to hamburg and found out i was in trouble with my uncle who had landed me the job at the bundestag in the first place. apparently he had to go to a lot of trouble to get me my spot there and everyone was confused as to what had happened to me. so i talked to him today and explained the mess, but not before freaking out and crying a little because i was afraid i made my uncle look bad in front of these very important people. oops. to say the least.” (Angel Face The True Story of Student Killer Amanda Knox, Barbie Latza Nadeau, pg 16-17)

At her job in Perugia, working for the man she would later falsely accuse of murder:

“She worked every night but Monday at Patrick Lumumba’s Le Chic bar, waiting tables and handing out fliers for the bar’s events. But Patrick had been heard to complain that Amanda spent more time talking and flirting with customers than she did selling drinks. He was about to fire her and was considering hiring Meredith for her job.” (Angel Face The True Story of Student Killer Amanda Knox, Barbie Latza Nadeau, pg 34)

• Failure to Accept Responsibility for Own Actions

Amanda Knox has refused to accept responsibility for falsely accusing Patrick Lumumba. She has continued to assert that it was all the fault of the police, even after she admitted in court that she was under no pressure from them when she blamed Lumumba in her written statements. Knox has also steadfastly rebuked all evidence against her for the murder and claims to be innocent. She has gone so far as to attend conferences for wrongly convicted prisoners who have been exonerated.

• Many Short-Term Marital Relationships

Knox has had multiple relationships but none have resulted in marriage. She is known to have refused a marriage proposal from Raffaele Sollecito.

• Juvenile Delinquency

Amanda received a ticket by police for violence at a party she threw at her off-campus house.

“The officer suspected ‘some kids’ were just playing their music too loud, but what he found was no run-of-the-mill summer student party: he later told colleagues it was like a scene from Baghdad. Gangs of students, high on drink and drugs, were hurling rocks into the road. Cars were swerving to avoid them. Debris littered the road. It was mayhem. Fearing reprisals, neighbours who had called the police refused to give their names. The police officer called for back-up as the youths began throwing rocks at the windows of houses on the neat, tree-lined streets. Eventually, after reinforcements had arrived, the students calmed down. Police made only one arrest: the person they held responsible for the party and the disorder. Her name? Amanda Knox, or, as she prefers to be known, Foxy Knoxy.”

Also while attending University of WA, Amanda staged a fake break-in to upset her roommate. Knox wrote about this on her blog,

“I played a part in an April Fool’s prank that involved making a mess — moving and hiding stuff in the house I shared with friends — to make it seem like we had been robbed when we weren’t there. The ruse was immediately revealed after the initial shock. We — all of the mutual friends of my housemates who participated in the prank with me — apologized for the distress caused.”

It is important to note that there was also a staged break-in at the cottage when Meredith Kercher was murdered. Knox and Sollecito maintain that it was the work of Rudy Guede. But it was Amanda Knox’s DNA that was found in the room that was ransacked, not Rudy’s.

• Revocation of Conditional Release

This has not been a factor for Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito as their convictions have not become final yet. However as Dr. Kiehl writes, “ . . .psychopaths fail to learn from experience, and the treat of punishment has no bearing on their future behavior. . . When a government releases someone early from prison, in the case of parole, some readily fail that trust.” (The Psychopath Whisperer, Kent A. Kiehl, PhD Pg 75)

• Criminal Versatility

Amanda has engaged in various criminal behaviors. She staged a burglary in college, used drugs, was involved with cocaine dealers, accused an innocent man of murder, and has also been associated with cyberbullies who have been harassing the victim’s family for years. Last but not least, she has been found guilty of murdering Meredith Kercher.

“Psychopaths are resistant to psychodynamic treatment, in part because they typically don’t feel like there is anything wrong with them . . “ (The Psychopath Whisperer, Kent A. Kiehl, PhD Pg 42)

There are no real treatment options for psychopaths, which unlike sociopaths, are born with this condition.

“Sociopathy and psychopathy are very different. Sociopathy includes a broad, heterogeneous category of individuals who act antisocially, the causes of which are believed to be social and environmental in nature. Psychopathy is a term grounded in biology and genetics and is truly agnostic to causes or etiology. In other words, genetics and the makeup of the brain, as well as environment, contribute to the construct of psychopathy. Although the term sociopathy is not used in modern academic circles to mean “psychopathy” anymore, some people continue to confuse the terms.” (The Psychopath Whisperer, Kent A. Kiehl, PhD Pg 40-41)

People have asked, “Why would two college students who had only known each other for a week, want to kill another student?” The most accepted motive has been that under the influence of drugs Knox set out to rob Meredith. Meredith had announced earlier that she had her rent money. Meredith confronted Knox and things spun out of control leaving Meredith dead.

Dr. Kiehl wrote about a female psychopath he interviewed. If Amanda Knox is a psychopath, her reason for killing Meredith may be along the same lines.

“The offender ‘Judy’ (not real name) was twenty-five years old. She had blonde shoulder-length hair and a slim build, weighed about 105 pounds, and stood five feet three inches tall. . .(her description of why she killed her friend Michael) . . .’Michael dared me to pull the trigger, so I raised the gun to his head and pulled the trigger on an empty chamber. Click. I was just going to scare him. But then Michael dissed me again and said that he knew I didn’t have the balls to shoot him. So I racked a round into the chamber and put it up to his head and fired. He’s not dissing me anymore.” (The Psychopath Whisperer, Kent A. Kiehl, PhD Pg 174 -177)