Knox’s father invites her ex-boyfriend to visit US

Raffaele Sollecito, the former boyfriend of Amanda Knox, has been invited by her father to visit them in the United States.

Lawyer Luca Maori, who defended Mr Sollecito in his successful appeal hearing, said yesterday that Curt Knox had invited the Sollecito family to visit them in Seattle. He added Mr Sollecito was likely to visit the Knox family “by the end of the year”.

Mr Sollecito, like Amanda Knox, had been in prison since 2007 after being convicted of the murder of British student Meredith Kercher in the flat she shared with Ms Knox in Perugia.

Mr Maori said Mr Sollecito was resting and felt “frightened about leaving his house”. He added: “Raffaele is still quite shaken.”

The lawyer said Mr Sollecito spent his time reading and didn’t watch TV.

He said Mr Sollecito would probably visit Ms Knox later this year but that he had not yet made any firm plans.

“But now, Raffaele needs to get back on his feet and resume a normal life,” Mr Maori said.

He said the Mr Sollecito was meeting old friends and “eating a lot of fish” – the Sollecito family home is near the Adriatic Sea in Puglia, the south-eastern region renowned for fresh fish.

“In jail, he just got canned tuna,” the lawyer said.

The day after the acquittals, Ms Knox flew with her family back to Seattle.

Unlike the American woman, whose imprisonment drew heavy media coverage, Mr Sollecito’s plight was largely ignored by the press. Even the Italian media focused more on her than on him.

During the trial, prosecutors depicted him as a “dog on a leash”, helplessly influenced by Ms Knox, whom he had been dating for only six days when they became the main suspects in the murder. During their two trials, he would often look over to her as if trying to catch her eye, and the two sometimes exchanged smiles.