Hayden to play convict

Heroes actor Hayden Panettiere is set to play Amanda Knox, the American exchange student convicted of murdering her roommate in Italy, in a Lifetime movie. The film will air in 2011, according to Deadline. Knox, 23, and her Italian boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito, were found guilty last year
of killing 21-year-old British student Meredith Kercher by slashing her throat with a knife during a violent, drug-fuelled sex game, reports the New York Post.

Prosecutors called Knox a “coiled spring” filled with vengeance because her roommate had criticised her grooming and sexual habits. After an 11-month trial, Knox was convicted of murder, sexual assault and other charges in Italy and sentenced to 26 years in prison.