( CNN ) -- Sitting at her home in West Seattle , Washington , Amanda Knox 's aunt Janet Huff was watching the live television news coverage that her niece had been convicted of murder . `` It was terrible , it was gut-wrenching just to hear them say it , '' Huff said of the verdict . She had been up for more than 11 hours while the jury deliberated , anxiously awaiting word . She remained hopeful but deeply afraid . She could n't eat . When the verdict was announced at about midnight in Perugia , Italy , her worst fears came true . Knox and her Italian former boyfriend , Raffaele Sollecito , were convicted of murdering Knox 's roommate Meredith Kercher . Knox was sentenced to 26 years and Sollecito 25 years in prison . Following the verdict , people flooded out of the Italian courtroom . When the prosecution emerged , a rush of applause followed . `` To see the people outside the courtroom applauding -- that just made me sick , that people can be that callous and cold , '' Huff said . Soon after the verdict , Knox 's parents , Curt Knox and Edda Mellas , emerged and swiftly moved through the crowd . Watch Janet Huff 's interview with CNN 's Campbell Brown . Huff said she spoke to Knox 's parents shortly after the verdict . `` They are , of course , shattered . They are not doing great , '' Huff said . `` But we have already started the process of appeals . That 's all we can do . '' For Huff , Knox is still the strong , kindhearted girl she has always known -- not the cold-blooded killer prosecutors portrayed during the trial . Huff said Knox was worried about the trial 's impact on the family . `` I think that 's what gets her through , knowing that she 's got to be strong , '' she said . `` If she falls apart , then we are really going to lose it . Knox 's parents : Our daughter is no killer . `` I know she is terribly disappointed , heartbroken and scared to death , but she 's more concerned about her family and how we are . '' With Knox 's conviction , Huff said the family was moving forward with plans for some relatives to move to Italy to be near Knox . The cost and physical toll of constantly traveling to Italy was weighing on the family , she said . `` We 've looked at jobs and apartments just in case this happened , '' she said . `` There 's no way we are going to leave Amanda in Italy all alone . '' Knox 's case has attracted widespread media attention and prompted salacious articles focusing on her sex life . Her name and photo have appeared on the front pages of newspapers all over the world , and now , Huff fears , things may get worse . `` Now that there 's a guilty verdict , she 's always going to be remembered as 'The convicted killer Amanda Knox , ' and I 'm disgusted by that , '' Huff said . Maria Cantwell , a U.S. senator from Knox 's home state of Washington , issued a statement saying she was `` saddened by the verdict . '' `` I have serious questions about the Italian justice system and whether anti-Americanism tainted this trial , '' Cantwell said . `` I will be conveying my concerns to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton . '' Huff said she hopes the appeals process will show what her family has believed all along . `` She will be vindicated and she will be found innocent , '' she said . Despite the pain the trial has brought Knox 's family , Huff stressed it is nothing compared to what victim Meredith Kercher 's family has gone through . `` They still do n't have closure , they may think they are vindicated with the guilty verdict but we know it does n't bring their daughter back , '' she said .
Huff : `` It was terrible , it was gut-wrenching just to hear them say it '' Amanda Knox , former boyfriend , convicted of murdering Italian student Amanda Knox . Janet Huff says seeing people applaud verdict outside court made her sick . Huff says State 's parents are `` shattered , they are not doing great ''