MILAN (AP) — Seattle resident Amanda Knox, a former exchange student who became the focus of a sensational murder case, arrived in Italy Thursday for the first time since an appeals court acquitted her in 2011 in the slaying of her British roommate.

Knox arrived at Milan’s Linate airport en route to the northern city of Modena, where she is scheduled to participate Saturday in a panel discussion on wrongful convictions.

She was accompanied by her mother and fiancee, and escorted by plainclothes officers. She kept her eyes down as she exited the airport and did not respond to reporters’ questions.

The killing of Knox’s roommate in the university town of Perugia, 21-year-old Meredith Kercher in 2007 attracted global attention, especially after suspicion fell on the photogenic Knox, and her boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito.

Europe’s human rights court in January ordered Italy to pay Knox $20,000 in financial damages for failures to provide adequate legal and translation assistance during her early questioning.