Joyful homecoming.
After four years behind bars in Italy, Amanda Knox touched down in her native U.S. on Tuesday night — and burst into tears during a press conference at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.
"They're reminding me to speak in English, because I'm having problems with that," said Knox, 24, who was exonerated Monday in the brutal 2007 murder of her British roommate Meredith Kercher. "I'm really overwhelmed right now. I was looking down from the airplane, and it seemed like everything wasn't real."
Clad in a loose grey sweater over a black T-shirt, Knox was greeted with a "Welcome Home Amanda" shout-out from a supporter and briefly took to a podium to thank well-wishers.
"What's important for me to say is just thank you to everyone who has believed in me, who has defended me, who has supported my family," said Knox, who had been serving a 26-year prison term before the ruling was overturned on Monday. "My family's the most important thing to me right now, and I just want to go and be with them."
(Knox's ex-boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito was also freed on Monday after his guilty ruling was overturned; Knox made a personal plea in court stating her innocence.
Added the Knox family's legal advisor, Theodore Simon, at the short press conference: "Let us not forget that Meredith was Amanda's friend, and I know Amanda and the family wants you to remember Meredith and to keep the Kercher family in your prayers."
