Amanda Knox, the UW student being held for questioning for her possible role in the murder of her English roommate, Meredith Kercher, spent her first night in an Italian penitentiary Nov. 6, according to a Nov. 7 article in the Italian daily newspaper, La Repubblica (“Una rosa rossa per Meredith”).

Knox spent the night in isolation, as did Italian student Raffaele Sollecito, 24, and Congolese immigrant Diya ‘Patrick’ Lumumba, 37, the other two taken into custody.

“The girl is particularly confused,” said Giacobbe Pantaleone, the director of the penitentiary, according to the article. “But in this situation that’s a logical and normal fact.”

During the night, the three apprehended suspects underwent physical examinations with a female psychologist, in accordance with normal procedures, Pantaleone said.

No charges have yet been filed, and a hearing was set for today.

The testimonies of the three involved in the case have been conflicting, according to the article.

Kercher and Knox were studying abroad in Perugia, a city north of Rome. It was in their shared house that Kercher was found dead in her bedroom Nov. 3, half-clothed and with stab wounds to her throat. She was the victim of an apparent sexual assault, Italian police officials, according to a Nov. 7 BBC News article (“Three suspects all played a role’”).

According to the La Repubblica article, Sollecito claims to have been apart from Knox and Kercher at the time of Kercher’s death. This is at odds with Knox’s testimony to the police that she and Sollecito were in another room when Lumumba entered Kercher’s bedroom, and they heard Kercher scream.

“I cannot remember how long they were together,” she told the Italian press. “At one point I heard Meredith scream. I was horrified. I put my fingers in my ears. … After that I don’t remember anything. I was very confused.”

Arturo De Felice, chief of police in Perugia, confirmed the accuracy of the reports, according to the BBC News article.

Knox was enrolled at the University for Foreigners in Perugia studying language, said UW excutive director of media relations Norm Arkans.

The University for Foreigners is the most prestigious language school for non-native speakers in Italy, according the International Programs and Exchanges (IPE) Web site. In order to receive UW credit, students must pass a final exam and submit a transcript to the IPE office. Students are responsible for all housing arrangements.

Arkans said there is nothing the UW can do to help Knox, as this goes “way beyond University policy.”

“This is a nightmare,” Arkans said. “There really is no precedent. We just need to let the Italian justice system run its course. … We have to hope that not everything we’re hearing from the foreign press is true.”

Several of Knox’s friends have refused to speak to foreign tabloids, said one friend who prefers to remain anonymous.

“They are printing things out of context, without our consent,” he said.

[Reach reporter Arla Shephard at news@thedaily.washington.edu.]