Kriti Mehrotra
With Hulu’s ‘The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox’ revisiting the 2007 murder of Meredith Kercher in Italy through the eyes of those wrongly convicted of it, we get a drama unlike any other. The 21-year-old British exchange student was found dead on the floor of her bedroom on November 1, shortly following which one of her roommates and her then-boyfriend found themselves wrapped in suspicion. The former was the titular American exchange student, whereas the latter was local software engineering student Raffaele Sollecito, whose family truly stood by him every step of the way.
Raffaele Sollecito’s Mother Passed Away 2 Years Before The Incident
Raffaele Sollecito was born on March 26, 1984, in Giovinazzo in Puglia, Italy, to Vincenza Palmiotto and Francesco “Frank” Sollecito. He was the youngest of their two kids, with his elder sister being Vanessa Sollecito. According to his own accounts in his 2012 memoir ‘Honor Bound: My Journey to Hell and Back with Amanda Knox,’ he and his sister grew up as loved and cared for as any child could hope. However,he revealed that their happy moments were often marred by their parents’ constant bickering over even the littlest things until they eventually separated when he was merely 8 years old in 1992.
Vincenza had only ever planned to be a “faithful wife and mother,” so she really struggled after the divorce despite help with bill payments because she couldn’t bring herself to move on. Therefore, as also indicated in the aforementioned original, since Vanessa was already in her late teens and then out of the house, Raffaele became her “abiding preoccupation.” This was to such an extent that he subsequently became her messenger to his father, as they still fought sometimes, and she even tried to convince him to stay close to home after graduating high school. In the end, he chose to follow his dreams while continuing to maintain a close relationship with his mother as much as possible, but he knew she was struggling by the time 2005 rolled around.
That’s because Vincenza was not only caring for her own mother, who had sadly been diagnosed with bone cancer, but was also dreading Francesco’s upcoming nuptials with his long-term girlfriend. According to Raffaele’s memoir, she had started complaining of not feeling like herself and calling him several times a day just to ensure he was really looking after himself. But alas, one summer morning, it was his godfather who called and asked him to rush home because Vincenza was not feeling well. Unfortunately, by the time he got there, she had passed away. The proud as well as protective mother of two was only 55 at the time, with the coroner soon ascertaining her cause of death to be a heart attack – something no one could have seen coming.
It’s imperative to note that Raffaele has since indicated he knows his mother would have unwaveringly supported him if she were still alive when he was arrested and stood trial for Meredith’s murder. It took years of legal proceedings before he and Amanda Knox were ultimately acquitted of any wrongdoing, yet he has asserted in his book that if there’s one thing he will never forgive Italian officials for, it’s smearing his mother’s name as well as memories. They had allegedly speculated that Vincenza died by suicide upon falling into deep depression following her divorce and the news of her ex’s intentions to remarry, per the memoir. He deemed this reported insinuation of “mental instability” running in the family, even as a possible theory during investigations to connect why/how he could have allegedly been involved in the murder, too low.
Raffaele Sollecito’s Father Prefers to Stay Away From the Limelight
While Francesco was not as close to Raffaele as his ex-wife was, he still cared deeply and was actively involved in his life with the help of frequent phone calls, meet-ups, as well as family get-togethers. In fact, as depicted in the Hulu limited series, he did indeed call his son almost every night to get a run-down of the day, offer any advice he could, and just maintain open communication between them. Therefore, it was a complete shock to Francesco when he heard his son had gone from being a witness to an arrested suspect in Meredith’s case within 6 days, driving him to do everything in his power to support him. He wasn’t vocal about it at first, but he did give a few interviews in the late 2000s/early 2010s to address some of the rumors and speculations widely reported, as well as to make it clear that the whole family believed in Raffaele’s innocence.
Since the entire ordeal has come to a close, though, Francesco has preferred to remain well away from the limelight. All we know is that this Giovinazzo native currently resides in Bisceglie in Puglia, Italy, where he is surrounded by love in the form of his wife, Mara. The couple tied the knot in the mid-2000s, yet they have reportedly been together for around 3 decades as of writing. Coming to Francesco’s professional standing, he served as a Urology and Forensic Medicine specialist at the Azienda Sanitaria Locale (Local Health Authority) for years. However, it appears as if he is now retired and choosing to spend his free time with loved ones while also undertaking new hobbies like gardening as well as growing different types of bonsai trees.
Raffaele Sollecito’s Sister Leads a Quiet Life Today
The moment Raffaele realized there was something seriously wrong on November 1, 2007, one of the first people he thought of calling was his elder sister, Vanessa Sollecito. That’s because, although she was based in Rome at the time, she was a Lieutenant in the police force (carabinieri) and could guide him through the processes he needed to take care of. Yet, once it came to light that it was a murder case in which he was a suspect, she went above and beyond without even being asked because she knew in her heart that her brother was innocent. Not only did she do her best to make separate inquiries of her own to gather all possible information, but she also candidly told him what to expect in court when it came time for him to stand trial in 2009.
Vanessa was allegedly told by her higher-ups that she could not publicly support Raffaele, as per records, only for it to then be indicated that she should not do so privately either. Nevertheless, she chose to stand by her brother even though it affected the way she was perceived at her job – she was allegedly singled out as well as treated differently. So, although she wanted to, she was the only one out of the family who didn’t come to court for his hearings because they reportedly didn’t want her “to deepen her troubles at work.”
But alas, in the end, according to Raffaele’s memoir, Vanessa was let go from his position, and a criminal investigation was opened against her for faking an injury and defrauding the police. The case was soon seemingly dismissed as she had already been fired, yet it still understandably took her some time to publicly speak up or show up for her brother. However, she was right there when he was acquitted. From what we can tell, Vanessa has since returned to Puglia, Italy, where she has been doing her best to lead a fulfilling life – even if it is not the kind she had once pictured for herself – by taking up odd jobs and surrounding herself with loved ones.
Read More: Who Was Rudy Guede to Meredith Kreacher? Did Amanda Knox Know Him?
