In March, Italy's supreme court ordered a new trial for Knox and her former Italian boyfriend for the slaying of Meredith Kercher in Perugia, where they were students. An appeals court in 2011 had acquitted both, overturning convictions by a lower court. The new appeals trial begins in Florence on September 30.
Florence daily La Nazione quoted lawyer Luciano Ghirga today as saying he recently met with Knox and fellow defense team members in the US, and that the American confirmed what her lawyers said right after the supreme court ruling, she won't return to Italy for the new trial.