Many will remember the 2007 saga of Amanda Knox, in which the then-20-year-old was arrested under suspicion of killing her roommate, Meredith Kercher, and was jailed in an Italian prison before eventually having the convictions overturned in 2015. Before her eventual exoneration, Knox spent four years in jail until a 2011 appeal cleared her of the murder charges. Spending that much time in prison, thousands of miles away from loved ones, has to be difficult, but Knox managed to get through it with the help of her family. In particular, Amanda Knox's sister Delaney supported her during her stay in jail, and throughout the entire years-long ordeal.
Knox actually has three younger sisters: Deanna, Ashley, and Delaney. Delaney and Ashley are considerably younger, and were just 8 and 12, respectively, when Amanda first landed in prison. Deanna, however, is just two years Amanda's junior, and the two sisters grew up incredibly close. In 2015, Amanda wrote about Deanna in the West Seattle Herald, "As kids, Deanna and I were each other’s sister, playmate, constant annoyance and constant companion. But I have to try really hard to not let that reasonable explanation dissipate the magic that is childhood closeness. I knew what she was thinking! The only comparison I can imagine might be when couples who have been married for the majority of their lives have come into such familiarity that they can finish each other’s sentences and convey whole conversations with a passing glance."
Given their closeness in age, it was Deanna who often found herself at the forefront of helping Amanda during the case by giving media interviews, visiting her in prison, and offering her sister support as best she could. Her help continued when Amanda was freed in 2011 and relied on Deanna to help her navigate the world — which had changed a lot in four years. "She asked who Justin Bieber was," Deanna told Carson Daly on the Today Show in 2011. "It was hilarious." Amanda added, "I heard some joke that someone's like, 'You're not even going to know who Justin Bieber is,' and I'm like, 'Yeah, I don't know who that is. I thought it was weird how everyone was on their touchscreen phones because that was not what was happening before."
Deanna also provided a link to Amanda's other sisters, since she hadn't grown as much and was able to help bridge the gap to Ashley and Deanna. "Deanna is closer to my age, so it wasn't quite as striking when I came home," Amanda told Daly. "I have two younger sisters as well. When I left, they were little kids, and when I came back, they were girls. All of a sudden we were driving the car together and listening to rap music. It was cool."
Despite Amanda's years spent in prison, Deanna clearly never gave up on seeing her older sibling free and happy again.
