Amanda Knox Verdict's Impact on Kercher Family

The Amanda Knox verdict will be revealed today from Perugia, Italy. This decision will determine whether Knox is to be set free or to spend 26-years to life in an Italian prison.

Monday morning she tearfully pleaded to be released. After spending four years behind bars already, Knox claims that she did not sexually assault or kill her British roommate, Meredith Kercher.

Knox was in one of the most emotional states she has yet to be seen in as she begged for her freedom to the deciding jury, which is made up of the presiding judge, a side judge and six jurors, five of them women.

But what about Meredith?

Regardless of the fact that Knox seems to now show some genuine compassion, the lawyer for Kercher's family, Francesco Maresca, insists that the jury must keep in mind Kercher's suffering. The Kercher family wants the original verdict upheld.

The prosecutor showed photographs of Kercher's bloodied body, pointing out multiple stab wounds on the victim, revealing a violent death.

She didn't have defensive wounds. It means that she was tied up, that she had more than one aggressor. Given the type, number and locations of the wounds, there had to be multiple attackers, he insisted.

Kercher would have been 25 years old this year. The British student would have had her degree from Leeds University and would have been busy preparing her Halloween costume, a holiday she loved. She died one day before celebrating in 2007.

She was excited to have the opportunity to study in the medieval town of Perugia. She made friends quickly and started dating a young Italian who lived in her same building.

On her last night, Kercher ate pizza and apple crumble with a small group of friends, watched a movie and went home alone around 9 p.m., according to court testimony.

Her family is extremely frustrated because they believe that Kercher's suffering has been eclipsed in the public's eye by the 24-year-old Knox, as supporters of the photogenic American mount a high-profile campaign to free her, according to an MSNBC article.

Kercher's mother, Arline, and sister, Stephanie, stress that the main focus should be on justice for the victim and not on Knox or her ex-boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito, who is also appealing his conviction.

The crime was undoubtedly a brutal one. And Knox has displayed cavalier behavior in the past. During the first trial, she was seen laughing and even doing cartwheels. Clearly, not the response one would typically expect from someone involved in a murder trial.

Today, Knox takes on a completely different tone. The 24-year-old, wrought with sadness, is hoping to overturn her prison sentence.

Some continue to uphold that there is major doubt on the Knox conviction. They base this on the fact that the DNA evidence on the supposed murder weapon is minute, and possibly inconsequential. There is no trace of Knox from the crime scene. There are no reliable witnesses. Rudy Guede has had many different alibis since the start of the trial and has exhibited suspicious behavior as well.

Still, the prosecution insists that Knox is guilty. Plenty of other evidence links Knox to the crime, including her false accusation against the Congolese barman, Patrick Lumumba, and a theft she and Sollecito are alleged to have staged in the apartment to throw police off track, according to an article from the Telegraph.

The verdict will be decided today, Oct. 3.