Since Amanda Knox first was locked up four years ago, a member of her immediate family or circle of close friends from Seattle has been in Perugia, Italy, almost continuously, to assure she saw a friendly face during visiting hours.
That has required a tremendous financial and logistical juggle, and the help of a horde of new friends. Thanks to a supporter who worked for British Airways, her mother, Edda Mellas, took cheap standby flights to Rome.
Mellas and Knox's father, Curt, divorced and remarried, have taken out second mortgages, run up credit-card debt and drained their retirement funds. Knox's grandmother took out a $250,000 mortgage to contribute to legal bills that far exceed $1 million.
They eventually rented a small "agri-tourismo" — a farm house — outside Perugia and bought a beat-up car. . . .
The pledge for family and friends to always be nearby for visits required sacrifices.
Edda Mellas, a math teacher in the Highline School District, used her personal vacation and sick days as well as those donated by others. Her husband, Chris Mellas, worked remotely at his job as an IT manager.
Curt Knox lost his job as a controller at Macy's but was hired recently by the Seattle Opera. He brought packages of Hamburger Helper on trips to Italy, growing tired of Italian food, according to "The Fatal Gift of Beauty," a book on the case by Nina Burleigh.
Knox's younger sister, Deanna, dropped out of Western Washington University and began working to fund her trips. Knox's friend from the University of Washington, Madison Paxton, moved to Perugia, and several other UW classmates dropped in for periods of time.
Back in the United States, the Friends of Amanda collected about $80,000 in a series of fundraisers. Some people donated air miles. (
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