Amanda Knox has been told to “shut up” by residents of Perugia as filming begins on a new drama about the murder of Meredith Kercher which she is co-producing.

Kercher was stabbed to death in the flat she shared with Knox while studying in Perugia in 2007 as part of an exchange with the University of Leeds.

Knox was convicted of fatally stabbing Kercher and jailed, but was acquitted of murder for a second time in 2015, having already served four years of her sentence.

After a 2011 film for American television, his 2013 memoir, Waiting to be Heard, and a 2016 Netflix documentary, Knox is now co-producing an eight-part series about his path to freedom.

When teams from Disney-owned Hulu arrived in Perugia, they were greeted with a banner reading “Rispetto per Meredith” (respect for Meredith).

The banner was created by resident Walter Cardinali, who said he was furious that Kercher was being forgotten. “Perugia couldn’t defend Meredith, but we can defend her memory,” he told the newspaper. Times.

“I don’t like them filming here. It’s time for her to shut up,” added Angelo Messino, 32.

Messino is the new manager of The Zoo bar, formerly Le Chic, where Knox worked while living in Perugia. The bar is set to reopen after being closed since the murder.

Amanda Knox (pictured) has been told to “shut up” by residents of Perugia as filming begins on a new drama about the murder of Meredith Kercher which she is co-producing.

Meredith Kercher was on exchange with the University of Leeds in Perugia when she was found stabbed to death in the flat she shared with Ms Knox in 2007.

When film crews from Disney-owned Hulu visited the picturesque Italian town, they were greeted by a banner emblazoned with “Rispetto per Meredith” (respect for Meredith).

The city of Perugia, nestled in the picturesque region of Umbria, has long been trying to move on from this now infamous murder case.

Unsurprisingly, residents are now furious that their town is once again associated with crime, as film crews have taken over the town, which has even been reluctant to put up its Christmas lights so as not to interfere with filming.

City councilor Margherita Scoccia criticized Peruvian authorities for allowing filming in the city.

She said: “Seventeen years ago, Perugia was shocked by the murder of Meredith Kercher, which unfortunately made us famous all over the world.”

After Kercher’s assassination, local universities saw their enrollment plummet, with several bars, restaurants and clubs having to close due to lack of tourists.

“Today this tragedy is remembered and sensationalized in a television series produced by the American, a figure who exists in public memory exclusively for her involvement in this crime and her sensational acquittal,” Scoccia said.

“It just brings back a horrible past,” one bed and breakfast owner who remembers the tragedy said this week. “It’s too macabre.”

Perugia Mayor Vittorria Ferdinandi has since apologized to residents in an open letter for allowing the filming.

Amanda Knox was jailed after being convicted of fatally stabbing Kercher, but was then conclusively acquitted of murder in 2015 due to a lack of evidence – after she had already served four years of her sentence.

Meredith Kercher (pictured) was tragically murdered in 2007

The city of Perugia, nestled in the picturesque region of Umbria, has long tried to turn the page after this now infamous murder case.

United States Amanda Knox (center) arrives with her husband Christopher Robinson (2ndL) and lawyers at the courthouse in Florence, June 5, 2024, before a hearing in a defamation case linked to her imprisonment and subsequent acquittal for the murder of her British roommate. in 2007

According to the guardianshe claimed to have neglected “the people and their grief, which is still alive within them.”

While also defending the decision, Mayor Ferdinandi said the series “would have been filmed in any other city in our region” and that by allowing the crew to film in Perugia it gave the local government more control over what was filmed.

Former Perugia prosecutor Giuliano Mignini, who led the investigation into the murder of Knox and her then-boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito, said filming here and now was a mistake because it revived unhappy memories in a city deeply shaken by tragedy.

“Everything that happened – the murder, trial after trial (Knox and Sollecito were found guilty and appealed twice) – had “many repercussions,” he told the Mail at the start of the month.

“Since then, enrollments have decreased at the University of Perugia because students no longer feel safe, as before. They don’t want to come here.

The new series has already sparked controversy after Disney was criticized for its “lack of sensitivity” by the Kercher family.

The Kercher family’s lawyer, Francesco Maresca, said: “We have already talked too much about this case and at some point we have to close the chapter.”

Speaking to The Times, she added: “However, Knox does not want to close the chapter. This continued shuffling is a demonstration of a lack of sensitivity.

Amanda Knox, center, is escorted by Italian prison police into court in Perugia, Italy, September 26, 2008.

Knox and Sollecito, photographed in Italy shortly after the affair made headlines in 2007, had only been dating shortly before Kercher’s death.

Knox is now a mother of two young children and shares a podcast with her husband while campaigning against wrongful convictions.

Meredith’s parents Arline (center) and John (right) Kercher – both of whom died in 2020 – and her sister Stephanie (left) at a press conference in Perugia in November 2007

“She’s making money, getting exposure on television after many years…It seems Knox doesn’t want people to forget this story and is doing everything she can to keep it alive.”

A statement from Kercher’s sister, Stephanie, said “she will forever maintain a lasting legacy of friendship and kindness that no amount of media can change,” while speaking of “an indescribable void.”

Kercher’s real killer was eventually identified as Ivory Coast native Rudy Guede after his DNA was found on his body.

He was sentenced to 16 years in prison before being released in 2021, as he only needed 13 years in prison for good behavior.

Knox is now 37 years old and has two children. She spends her time advocating for criminal justice reform and campaigning against wrongful convictions.

The new series is co-produced by Monica Lewinsky, known for having an affair with then US President Bill Clinton, a story that Disney also decided to turn into a TV series.

Series makers say the series tells “the true story of how Amanda Knox was wrongly convicted of the murder of her roommate Meredith Kercher and her 16-year odyssey to break free.”

Attorney Maresca made disapproving references to lectures Knox gave to American universities in 2018 for which she allegedly received seven thousand five hundred pounds each.

Speaking to the Times, he went so far as to say that the upholding of his slander conviction cast doubt on his complete innocence.

“Knox’s silence for the moment would have been the most appropriate thing,” he concluded.