>> reporter: it was a moment curt knox had imagined for four years.ldamanda, standing on american soil. her conviction for murder overturned. >> what's important for me to say is just thank you, to everyone, who believed in me, who defended me, who supported my family. >> reporter: amanda broke down, he says, because she was overwhelmed by the crowd that had come to greet her. >> i think up to that press conference in seattle, she really only had exposure to what took place in the first five minutes of each hearing but i think she got her first idea of that press conference when there was so many supporters there to welcome her home. >> reporter: in his first interview since his daughter came home, curt says amanda is adjusting well. >> she seems to not really have missed a beat with the family and, you know, with her sisters and stuff like that, so that's been nice to see. >> reporter: when the courtroom erupted monday with word aghan was acquitted of the murder of her british room maim meredith kercher, curt just wanted to hold her, but he would hav

in a moment that haunts him to this day, curt knox heard the verdict in italian. guilty. >> these two kids were innocent, and to have them say guilty, it was just devastating. it was literally devastating. and, you know, i mean literally the people that were in the courtroom were kind of like ooh! >> doug preston is a best-selling author that dreams up chilling murder plots in his writing shack on the cold coast of maine. 11 years ago he had an idea to write a chilling tale, but in a warmer location. >> i moved to italy to write a novel, and we rented a house in the tuscan hills just outside of florence. ♪ >> his research began with trying to learn about the italian justice system. teaming up with an old italian crime reporter named mario spezi, he soon was intrigued about a serial killer italy had yet to catch. the monster of florence who killed eight couples from 1968 to 1985 then vanished. >> when you are a novelist, you are just making things up. but this was real. >> preston would quickly abandon his work of fiction for the real thing and began to learn how t

and she wants to become an advocate for the wrongfully accused. >> and curt knox says his daughter is not sleeping at night, but he believes once she realizes she is safe at home, her normal habits will return. back to you. >> okay, mary, thank you. >>> and you can hear more about amanda knox, the untold story, on 48 hours mystery, tomorrow night at 10:00. >>> a man finds himself on the wrong side of law. he served as wicomico county state's attorney for more than a decade. police say he was arrested for violating a court order, prohibiting him from contacting a woman there. he was charged with drunk driving in ocean city. >>> it is one of the hottest trends in food. and baltimore helps pave the way to popularity. monique griego has more on the food truck phenomenon. and where you can get a taste tonight. >> reporter: fine food from a full-sized kitchen, in a truck. >> it's probably one of the hottest new trends in america now. what you can do is you're able to get gourmet quality food on the street. >> reporter: bill irvin helps run cooper's chows hound burgers wagon. it serves up go

knox's mother he hedda and her father, curt. knox herself arriving in an armored police van. one by one through the medieval courtroom's double doors they came. edda, the prosecutor giuliano mignini and then surrounded by a phalanx of security officers amanda herself cloaked in an overcoat. in their final closing arguments knox's attorneys restate the core of their case. the dna evidence used to convict her in the murder of her roommate, meredith kercher, had been discredited and now amanda must be freed. next raffaele sollecito, amanda's former boyfriend and co-defendant insisting he never hurt anyone in his life. he shows the court a bracelet he has worn bearing the words "free amanda and raffaele." i have worn this for four years, he said. today it is finally the day to take it off. then the court falls silent as amanda knox rises to deliver her much anticipated statement. the intensity of the statement almost overwhelms her. she is shakes as she struggles to get the words out. >> okay. >> reporter: but as she continues she seems to gain a bit of confidence, the young woma

among the people i have spoken with is curt knox who gave us insight into the last moments of his daughter's never will the knox family, the moment the verdict was read. >> i watched amanda and i saw her slumping. i went no. . and then our attorney that speaks english turned around and said, she's free. couldn't tell you. it couldn't be better. >> reporter: unbelievable moment. >> yeah. it's a nightmare, period. and we have now kind of woken up and realized that the nightmare is over. i lost one of my daughters for a while. it's not going to happen again. >> reporter: you got her back, curt. >> yeah, yeah. >> reporter: you got her back. can you believe that we're here? can you believe that she's free? >> i'm still pinching myself. >> reporter: does amanda understand that her story grabbed the attention of the entire world, that literally millions of people came to care for her? >> i think she's beginning to understand that, but i think the real first, you know, hit on that was, you know, that press conference when she came to seattle. i think it really -- it really was something that hit her

. >> in an interview late today, her parents, curt knox and her mother, hope their daughter will be freed some time tomorrow. >> obviously my hopes are that they totally overturn her conviction and tell her she's free to go home. >> but first amanda faces a harrowing task tomorrow morning when she stands to address the six jurors and two judges in italian who will decide her fatement. >> she's going to be pleading for her life. it's a big thing. i think that she wants to be very pointed. but i think it's going to be very heartfelt to really have that judge and jury understand that she had nothing to do with the death of meredith. >> reporter: after knox and her former italian boyfriend, raffalle sollecito, address the court, a quick verdict is expected. >> some time in the early afternoon, evening, a verdict will come in. we all stand, they stand and they read their verdict. >> foxx and sollecito were convicted in 2009 for the murder of amanda's british roommate, 21-year-old meredith kercher in the house they shared in perugia. but during their retrial, the d.n.a. evidence used to convict

curt knox is amanda's father and joins me now from seattle. good to see you. thanks. >> thanks for having me. >> i was thinking as i saw the images of amanda moving through the rome airport on her way to board a flight back home that it's hard to just flip a switch and say to someone who has been confined for four years and not in control of her own life, okay, now be normal. how is the adjustment going? >> you know, it's actually going amazingly well. it's almost like she hasn't missed a beat with her family and, you know, that is really what she said in her statement at the press conference is she just wanted to be with her family. that's what's been happening so far. she is doing actually very well. >> there is an ironic piece of this. right now she is in a location, and you don't want anybody to know where that is and we completely understand that, and yet i wonder, is that freedom? i mean, you know, freedom is you get to go where you want, do what you want to do without the prying eyes of the public or the media. at the moment she's not really entitled to

. >> reporter: in an interview, her parents, curt knox and edda mellas said they hope their daughter who has served nearly four years in prison will be free. >> obviously, my hopes is she overturn her conviction and tell her she is free to go home. >> reporter: but she faces a harrowing task in italian who will decide her fait. >> she is pleading for her life. it's a big thing. i think she wants to be pointed but i think it's going to be really heartfelt to really have that judge and jury understand that she had nothing to do with the death of meredith. >> reporter: after knox and her former italian boyfriend dressed the court the jury and judges will deliberate together. a quick verdict is expected. >> probably sometime in the afternoon, early evening, they will all come back in. we all stand there, they stand, and they read their verdict. >> reporter: knox and is a sollecito were convicted of the murder of their roommate meredith kercher in a house they shared in perugia. during their trial, the dna evidence used to convict them was thrown out after a scientific panel ruled it was

and when it will reappear as eyewitness news continues on cbs 5. ,, that is amanda knox's father, curt knoxanswering reporters questions about his daughter's family is asking fo >>> you will not find her. >> that's kurt knox answering questions about his daughter amanda knox's plans. the family is asking for privacy while amanda adjusts to her life of freedom after four years in an italian prison. the 24-year-old landed in her hometown of seattle last night. her parents say she was all smiles at a small family gathering last night but they are concerned about how her prison time will affect her in the long run. amanda knox was convicted of murdering her roommate but an appeals court jury overturned that verdict. for now the family is taking it day by day. >> we are going to have to, you know, go as she goes and adjust on -- based on that. >> all her family would say about her first hours at home was that she drank coffee and used a few spices on her food, things she was didn't while in prison. >>> today jurors in the conrad murray manslaughter trial listened to a drugged michael jackson say

we're going to talk to her father, curt knox, in seattle. details on her emotional return home and what's ahead for her now. on her first full day back home, an emotional amanda knox spent the day relaxing with friends and family. her attorney said she stayed awake talking all night. >> as surprising as it may sound, it was less about amanda and more about the family. they were so warm to her. wasn't let her go. a lot of hugs. >> reporter: attorney theodore simon spent hours with knox, as she related strange rituals by inmates in the italian jail where she was held for four years. >> when arriving in court, when one is about to receive a final verdict, it's required that you keep both of your fists clenched. >> reporter: after she was acquitted, there were more traditions. >> when you know you're about to be released, you take your toothbrush, you break it in half, carry it out. and once you are actually beyond the walls of the prison, you throw your old toothbrush away. >> reporter: knox lost so much weight in prison, she dropped from a siz

curt knox is amanda's father. >> he really was focused on everything but physical evidence. the physical evidence, at least from my point of view, would show that they had no participation in this horrific crime. >> reporter: knox and sollecito were convicted in 2009 of killing meredith kercher. the prosecutor claimed it was a group sex game gone bad. but earlier this year, a team of forensic experts concluded that the d.n.a. evidence linking knox and sollecito to the scene didn't meet any standard of reliability. bob graham is an investigative reporter and a cbs news consultant. >> absolutely zero evidence to link them, be it circumstantial evidence, forensic evidence, witness evidence. there's zero. >> reporter: but dozens of other d.n.a. samples are reliable, and they all point to one man as the killer: rudy guede, who was tried separately and convicted of the crime in 2008. and a verdict could come in this case as soon as monday. bob? >> schieffer: thank you very much, peter. a very special first pitch at today's american league playoff game. a 67-year-old man is rescued

martha: an emotional curt knox talking about the reunion of his four daughters. our legal panel takes on the appeals case. does amanda knox have a chance to go home to america? how will that work if she does do that. all right. some new reports that chris christie is indeed considering a run for the white house. his team is figuring out if it's too late to get and running. there has been a strong push for new jersey's governor to run in the race. but it has always been a firm no. >> reporter: the people chasing after governor christie remind me of a park of dogs chasing after a car and it's not clear what they will do if they catch it. gregg: would the conservatives be happy with governor christie as a candidate? martha: this is getting a lot of attention. rick perry is disputing a "washington post" story that claim the name of his hunting ranch contained the "n" word carved into a large stone. according to the article that word was on the rock on the property. but the perry campaign says it was painted over 30 years ago. "the word written by others long ago is o

in a moment that haunts them to this day, curt knox heard the verdict in italian. these two kids were innocent. and to have them you know say guilty, it was just kev stating. it was literally devastating and you know, i mean literally the people that were in the courtroom went kind of like, oh. >> doug preston is a best selling author who dreams up chilling murder plots in his writing shack on the cold coast of maine. 11 years ago he had an idea to write a chilling tale, but in a warmer location. >> i moved to italy to write a novel, and we rented a house in the tuscan hills just outside of florence. >> his research began with trying to learn about the italian justice system. teaming up with an old italian crime reporter named mario spezi, he soon was intrigued about a serial killer italy had yet to catch. the monster of florence who killed eight couples from 1968 to 1985, then vanished. >> when you are a novelist, you are just making things up. but this was real. >> preston would quickly abandon his work of fiction for the real thing and began to learn how the mon

since her release, curt knox said that they haven't discussed the full details of her prison life. >>o bring amanda home and to ensure that she was safe and feel safe and then we'll deal with any other issues that we have to deal with later. >> reporter: we're also learning what went on with the jury. one of the jurors making his silence to italian tv, said that he spent much of time trying to read the faces of amanda and raffaele sollecito. he said they didn't bluff. the family of raffaele sollecito are now offering to help the kercher family get to the truth. they believe she was murdered by rudy guede. but they say the full story has not been told. i think that's what everyone wants to know, what exactly happened that night. >> there's widespread speculation that amanda will write a book one day. >> it's fascinating to me that rudy guede got a shorter sentence than amanda, 16 years. >>> let's go to ron with the other headlines. >>> good morning, everyone, in the news, police in missouri say the parents of missing 10-month-old lisa irwin are once again cooperating. with their invest

. >>> curt knox can't wait for his daughter to buy him a drink now that she is back, amanda knox turned 21 while she was in prison. >>> well the helicopter remains intact. investigators say that will give them a better chance to figure out what caused that helicopter to go down. that happened yesterday, just moments after takeoff. four people survived, but a fifth person, in fact the woman who was celebrating her 40th birthday was trapped inside that chopper and she died. >> as soon as you realize something wasn't right, it turned over and went down. >> the pilot was friends with his passengers. the three survivors are still hospitalized tonight. that pilot is not injured. bruce. >>> derek, a forensic computer expert who examined dr. conrad murray's cell phone took the stand and jurors heard a slurred audio clip of michael jackson recorded weeks before he died. >> reporter: bruce, on day one of this trial, prosecutors prosecutors shocked the court with a recording of michael jackson. the jurors heard from the king of bop. michael jackson slurred, barely recognizable voice in court once

curt knox joining us from seattle. once again, thank you so much. eally appreciate it. >> thanks for having me. >>> for more catch "48 hours mystery" amanda knox, untold story, it airs on cbs news tonight at 10:00, 9:00 central. check it out. it's really good. >> what a relief for that family to finally be together after all this time. >> and saturday morning, too. that interesting phone call. >>> here is a check of the weather with lonnie quinn. >>> here on my weather headlines for this morning. most of the country is sunny. when i say most of the country, about 75% of us will have a beautiful holiday weekend. only two spots have rain right now. but the two spots we are talking about a lot of rain. one area you see it right here. central plains up to the northern plains, we also see rain around florida. how much? for the central plains, northern plains from grand island to hutchinson and am ril hoe, texas, 3 to 6 inches. nothing compared to what we see in florida. this system will sit and spin and pull in moisture off the atlantic ocean and than the

and amanda's father, curt knox, joins us from perugia. good morning.t to begin by asking you, what can we expect to hear in amanda's speech tomorrow? >> it's going to be a very heartfelt, spontaneous statement. you know, she's going to touch upon what she has felt through these fours years, what it has meant and then also the fact that she is innocent and she's very hopeful that they see that with all of the evidence that has been presented in the appeals trial. >> how is she holding up as the final judgement day nears? >> she's obviously very tense. she's 24 years old and potentially looking at a possible life sentence, that's not a pleasant experience for anyone. we're just very hopeful that they see that she didn't have anything to do this. >> we hear that the victim's mother will be in court tomorrow. her lawyer said that she will be staring the jurors in the eye, she would like to see amanda remain behind bars, are you planning on saying anything to her tomorrow? >> well, you know, we have two very different circumstances and you know, we have --

and amanda's father, curt knox, joins us now live from perugia.rning, curt. >> good morning. >> i want to begin by asking you, what can we expect to hear in amanda's speech tomorrow? >> well, it's going to be a very heartfelt, you know, spontaneous statement is what they referred to it as, and, you know, she she's going to touch upon, you know, what she has felt through these fours years, what it has meant and then also the fact that she is innocent and she's very hopeful that they see that with all of the evidence that has been presented in the appeals trial. >> and how is she holding up as the final judgement day nears? >> well, she's obviously very tense. i mean, she's 24 years old, and she's, you know, looking at a potential life sentence, so that's not a pleasant experience for anyone. and, you know, we're just very hopeful and she is that they see that she really had nothing to do with this horrific crime. >> we hear that the victim, meredith kercher's mother will be in court tomorrow. her lawyer said that she will be staring the jurors in t

>> curt knox is an extraordinary man, and he has talked -- opened up more and more about this case and more about what his daughter has gone through. >> you know, she's almost kind of reborn in a way. i mean, leaving -- living for four years inside a concrete- and-steel, you know, prison, and now being able to just kind of look around, smell the air, and just do what she wants to do, hopefully when she wants to do it, it makes a huge difference. >> we know bits and pieces on amanda, you know more. she says she wants a normal life. is that possible? >> i think it's going to be difficult for a while. she can't even go out of her house right now, here in seattle. and she's hoping to transition back to university, earn her degree. and she wants to become an advocate for the wrongfully accused. >> and you can see amanda knox: the untold story, saturday at 10:00, here on wjz 13. >>> if you're waiting for someone to get home from work, let's check in on the roads now with kristy breslin, live at wjz traffic control. hi, kristy. >> hi, vic. let's go back and take a live look. sky eye chopper 1

you know, her father, curt knox, spoke a bit about what's going to happen with her over the next few weeks or so. she's going to get acclimated, take some time to spend time with her family and her friends. he also mentioned that one of her priorities, you know, she spent four years in that cement prison. she wants grass. she just wants to lie around in the grass. and you can't really blame her. it's a luxury we take for granted, but that's also something she wants to do. we also know from her journals that she wrote in prison that she's thinking about helping convicts that have been wrongly accused. and that she has dreams of being a mother. obviously, those are a little ways down the road. alex? >> all right, stephanie gosk in seattle, many thanks for that. >>> self-described girlfriends of dr. conrad murray testify about their conversations with him right before michael jackson died. we're going to tell you what the jury's going to hear in just a few minutes. >>> plus, new details about the passengers on that helicopter that crashed here in new york. but first, let's take a look a

clear up her personality, because it was really -- they really made her look very bad -- >> here's curt knox here. that's deanna knox in front of the microphones. i'm not sure if we're going to be able to hear them. >> yeah -- >> we are now watching amanda knox's family. they've come to the stairs of the court and are about to address the gathered media, media from around the world. >> i'm deanna knox, amanda knox's sister and i have a few words on behalf of our family. we're thankful that amanda's nightmare is over. she suffered for four years for a crime that she did not commit. we are thankful for our lawyers. carlo, and maria del grosso and their assistants. not only did they defend her brilliantly, but they also loved her. we are thankful for the support we have received from all over the world. people who took the time to research the case and could see that amanda and raffaele were innocent. and last, we are thankful to the court for having the courage to looked for truth and to overturn this conviction. we now respectfully ask you to give amanda and the rest of our family our privacy

we heard from her family one of the thing that sticks out curt knox said what his daughter wants to do when she is released is lay in the grass and put her feet in the grass. i know she is spending private time with her family at this point. do you know whether she has had an opportunity since she spoke to lay in the grass, walk in the grass? >> i spent every minute with her since her deplaning so i can tell you. we left in the car. we ended up at a certain home and it was filled with family members and she interacted with her young cousins and aunts and uncles and it was just -- just a very warm, meaningful evening. it was not a celebration. it was thankfulness, gratefulness, appreciation to be in each other's company and that is what it was. if she got in the grass, i didn't see it. i think she was too filled up with e mogs and her family and expressions of love. she is a dlilve person, a delightful person and very extremely thoughtful. what i sat and observed i think she has an incredible strength and she appears to me to be remarkably healthy. >> she is, obviously, taking some time

with amanda knox and raffaele sollecito exonerated from their nightmare trial, amanda's father, curt,were able to share a moment before they went free. >> the only time they got to talk was after the verdict, when they were getting ready to be whisked away in the cars. they hold something in common. i'm sure there will be a time where they talk about things. >> reporter: and that time could come soon. the sollecitos have been invited to visit the family in seattle. >> whether they take us up on that is too early to tell. i know that he is experiencing the things that amanda is experiencing. >> reporter: in his courtroom plea for freedom, raff jell sollecito showed a bracelet he had worn for three years, saying free amanda and raphaelle. >> it was meaningful. now, it's over. we can try to move on. >> reporter: in seattle, amanda's catching up on so many things she's missed. she'd never seen an ipad. never tweeted. when amanda was freed, david letterman's top ten list of things she was thinking included -- >> who is justin bieber? >> reporter: turns out, letterman was right. she had nev

. >> reporter: neighbors and supporters were overjoyed as they greeted curt knox home. and this time, not empty-handed. amanda's grandmother was ecstatic. >> we are elated. we all are happy as can be. >> reporter: amanda's parents are divorced and live in separate homes, but close together. at most houses, welcome home banners were suddenly. flowers and balloons. a local restaurant put a sandwich on the menu called the amanda's free. >> she's been in prison for four years. and to be able to get out and try to get back home and get back here, where she grew up and everything like that, is very overwhelming to her. >> reporter: what she'll do now, we're told, is spend an awful lot of time with friends and family. her father schayes she has no plans to undergo counseling at any time. and an interesting note, all of the tv stations have sent a letter to the family, saying they're promising to stay out of the neighborhood, just to give the family the space it needs. elizabeth? >> that's really what they need more than anything. >>> we're welcoming in ted simon. i spoke with

curt knox, so tense and so happy to finally have his daughter home.ying with amanda's sisters, as they checked in for the flight. and then, edda mellas, teasing photographers, desperate for a final glimpse of amanda. arrangements had previously been made to escort amanda directly to the plane. i want to return to the chaos last night after the verdict was read. i had a chance to speak with amanda knox's lawyer, just outside of the courthouse, has throws teemed about. amanda knox has no ill will against italy or italians. a country she loves. and amman do knox today, is happy to leave all of this behind, on her way to freedom, on her way home. robin? george? >> okay, josh. thanks very much. there is so much drama in this case. >>> and "20/20" co-anchor, elizabeth vargas, has covered it from the start. she joins us from perugia this morning. elizabeth? >> reporter: only a story as sensational and as lurid can end in such an away. acquittal on all murder charges. and pandemonium in the streets of perugia. the streets are calm. and amanda knox is enjoying

megyn: here comes curt knox entering the courthouse.hen is are there reasonable doubts in this case and certainly if they weren't there originally, they are there now. as lis said, with the dna allegedly being contaminated and tainted and not necessarily worthy of trust, you've got questions about the credibility of the officers who claim that there was a confession when there was no interpreter used and who asked her to hypoth size how that happened and called that a confession. i think there's enough here to create reasonable doubt. megyn: with the prosecutor saying if she gets exonerated here he might refile charges against her in connection with this very case. there's no double jeopardy in italy. >> there's no double jeopardy. megyn: how do they get sure she gets out of italy asap and back to the united states if she has a favorable verdict? >> i have to believe -- by the way this prosecutor has a horrible past, convicted of all sorts of terrible things and that has to come into play in the jury and judge's mind in this appeal, but