Lifetime Movies: The Craiglist Killer & Amanda Knox [crime, movies]

I am just finishing up "The Craigslist Killer," the Lifetime movie portraying the story of Philip Markoff, the med student convicted of robbing and killing a young woman he met off of Craigslist in Boston.

In a completely self-centered act Markoff committed suicide in jail before standing trial, leaving the family of his victim in the dark about the last minutes' of their loved one's life. As if the suicide wasn't enough, Markoff went so far as to write his ex-fiance's name in his own blood on the wall of his cell where he killed himself, leaving behind a gruesome shrine with numerous pictures of his ex.
Next up is the controversial world premiere of Amanda Knox: Murder on Trial in Italy, chronicling the story of American former University of Washington student Amanda Knox accused of sexually assaulting and killing her roommate while studying abroad in Italy. The film is supposedly going to air without a controversial graphic scene depicting the murder.

Amanda's family wanted Hayden Panettierre (who portrays Amanda in the film), to meet Amanda before filming but their multiple requests were never acknowledged by Lifetime. It has been reported that Amanda herself "was shocked and hyperventilating when she saw a TV newscast in her Italian prison cell this weekend about Hayden Panettierre playing her in the Lifetime movie."

I also eventually read the book written about this story, "Angel Face: The True Story of Student Killer Amanda Knox."