American Jailed in British Student's Murder in Italy 'Going Crazy'

An American student accused of being involved in the murder of her British rommate in Italy has said she thought she was "going crazy" during her first days in jail.

Amanda Knox, 20, has been in prison since Nov. 6, following the discovery of Meredith Kercher's body in their apartment in Perugia four days earlier.

A judge is expected to decide this week whether she and her Italian boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito, should remain behind bars while the investigation continues.

Meredith, 21, was stabbed in the neck while apparently fighting off a sexual assault.

Knox, known as Foxy Knoxy, gave an interview to Turin newspaper La Stampa about her experiences in prison - but not about the night Meredith was killed.

She has given conflicting statements since Meredith was found dead.

Knox first said she was not at home on the night of the killing, but later told prosecutors she was in the apartment, saying she had to cover her ears to drown out her flatmate's screams.

Her lawyer, however, is expected to go back to the original version - that Knox was not at home - when he speaks to the judge ruling on Knox's detention, according to La Stampa and other Italian reports.

Speaking about her imprisonment, Knox told La Stampa: "The first days, I was kept isolated. It was very hard. I couldn't have any relations with anybody."

Then she was transferred to a ward housing people accused of sexual crimes, the newspaper said.

"My God, those days were terrible. Nobody talked to me," Knox is quoted as saying. "I thought I was going crazy and I prayed that they would move me. When I arrived here, everything changed.

"They treat me with dignity," she said, adding that her fellow inmates are "wonderful".

In addition to Knox and Sollecito, 23, Rudy Hermann Guede, an Ivory Coast native, has been detained in the slaying. Guede is to be extradited from Germany. All have denied any wrongdoing.

Diya "Patrick" Lumumba was arrested with Knox and Sollecito but later released without charge.