The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox has finally made its premiere on Hulu, sparking renewed interest in the true crime case, including the identity of Meredith Kercher’s real killer, Rudy Guede. Warning: some may find this content distressing.
On November 1, 2007, Meredith, a British student studying in Perugia, Italy, was brutally murdered in her apartment at just 21 years old. Though Meredith was the true victim, her story was quickly overshadowed by a media frenzy that fixated on her roommate and fellow exchange student, Amanda Knox.
Knox was unfairly cast as a sexual deviant (the tabloids referred to her as “Foxy Knoxy”), but the reality was far less lurid. Knox and her then-boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito, were just regular young adults – and they were nowhere near the crime scene that night.
Knox and Sollecito were wrongfully convicted and spent nearly four years behind bars, staring down the possibility of life sentences. Meanwhile, the man later confirmed as the real perpetrator, Rudy Guede, faced a different outcome.
Where is Rudy Guede now?
Rudy Guede served 13 years of his 16-year sentence in prison and was released in November 2021 to serve community service in Viterbo, Italy, where he currently lives. However, he’s now facing charges of sexually assaulting his girlfriend with a trial due later this year.
As is explored in the Hulu series, the Italian judicial system came down hard on Knox and Sollecito. But Guede was tried separately in a fast-track procedure in October 2008, where he was found guilty of murdering and sexually assaulting Kercher after his DNA was found on her body and in her home.
The Ivory Coast native, now 38 years old, was originally sentenced to 30 years behind bars, but this was cut to 24 years after Knox and Sollecito were originally convicted. This was then cut further to 16 years on appeal.
Guede ultimately only spent 13 years despite the brutality of the crime, with a judge citing his good behavior. The Kercher family’s lawyer stated at the time that a “moral reflection” may have been warranted over whether “such a low sentence could be sufficient for a murder of this kind”.
Even before his official release, Guede was given partial release in 2017, when he was allowed to go outside in the daytime to volunteer for a Catholic charity and work as a librarian at the Viterbo criminological studies center.
He has been living in the Italian town ever since, with local media reporting that he has studied and continued to work since being out. However, in 2023, fresh allegations against him surfaced.
Guede and an unnamed woman started dating while he was still behind bars, and they had continued their relationship after his release. But in 2023, they broke up when she pressed charges against him, accusing Guede of sexual assault, violence, and stalking.
Guede was charged and attended a preliminary hearing in July 2025, with a court date set for November this year.
According to investigating magistrate Rita Cialoni (via CNN), more than 100,000 photos, thousands of chats, and audio messages between Guede and the 25-year-old victim are among the evidence to be considered in the trial.
Despite his criminal history, Guede’s lawyer claims he’s innocent.
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