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| Meredith Kercher murder: Knox and Sollecito to hear verdict | |
| (about 5 hours later) | |
| More than two years after they were acquitted of the murder of the British exchange student Meredith Kercher, Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito face another Italian court verdict on Thursday that could uphold their original convictions and eventually pave the way for an extradition battle with the United States. | More than two years after they were acquitted of the murder of the British exchange student Meredith Kercher, Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito face another Italian court verdict on Thursday that could uphold their original convictions and eventually pave the way for an extradition battle with the United States. |
| In the latest chapter of legal proceedings resulting from the brutal 2007 killing, the appeals court in Florence is due to rule on whether the former lovers should once again have their murder convictions overturned, or whether those guilty verdicts still stand. | In the latest chapter of legal proceedings resulting from the brutal 2007 killing, the appeals court in Florence is due to rule on whether the former lovers should once again have their murder convictions overturned, or whether those guilty verdicts still stand. |
| While Knox will remain in her home town of Seattle, Sollecito's father, Francesco, said on Wednesday that his son would be in court for the verdict. Two of Kercher's siblings, Stephanie and Lyle, will also be there. | While Knox will remain in her home town of Seattle, Sollecito's father, Francesco, said on Wednesday that his son would be in court for the verdict. Two of Kercher's siblings, Stephanie and Lyle, will also be there. |
| "We are obliged to have faith in our justice system and so we'll see it through," Francesco Sollecito said. "We will be there in court tomorrow and we will be there for the reading of the sentence." | "We are obliged to have faith in our justice system and so we'll see it through," Francesco Sollecito said. "We will be there in court tomorrow and we will be there for the reading of the sentence." |
| Prosecutors have asked for both defendants to serve 26 years in prison for the murder, with an extra four years requested for Knox on the charge of slander. The Seattle-born student and her Italian ex-boyfriend deny any wrongdoing and have expressed cautious hope that the court will side with them. | Prosecutors have asked for both defendants to serve 26 years in prison for the murder, with an extra four years requested for Knox on the charge of slander. The Seattle-born student and her Italian ex-boyfriend deny any wrongdoing and have expressed cautious hope that the court will side with them. |
| However, having already spent four years behind bars, they are well aware that may not happen. "I am optimistic but I am scared," said Knox, 26, in an interview with Italian newspaper La Repubblica earlier this month. "Every time that I've thought my innocence would be acknowledged I have been convicted." | However, having already spent four years behind bars, they are well aware that may not happen. "I am optimistic but I am scared," said Knox, 26, in an interview with Italian newspaper La Repubblica earlier this month. "Every time that I've thought my innocence would be acknowledged I have been convicted." |
| Whatever the verdict, it will not become definitive until and unless confirmed by Italy's top appeals court, a process likely to take months. Only in the event of a definitive conviction would Italy be in a position to request Knox's extradition from the US. | Whatever the verdict, it will not become definitive until and unless confirmed by Italy's top appeals court, a process likely to take months. Only in the event of a definitive conviction would Italy be in a position to request Knox's extradition from the US. |
| More than six years have passed since the body of Kercher, a 21-year-old from Coulsden, Surrey, was found in the bedroom of the house she shared with Knox in the picturesque hillside town of Perugia. The popular, hardworking Leeds University student was on an Erasmus year abroad when, on the night of 1 November 2007, she was stabbed and left to choke on her own blood on her bedroom floor. | More than six years have passed since the body of Kercher, a 21-year-old from Coulsden, Surrey, was found in the bedroom of the house she shared with Knox in the picturesque hillside town of Perugia. The popular, hardworking Leeds University student was on an Erasmus year abroad when, on the night of 1 November 2007, she was stabbed and left to choke on her own blood on her bedroom floor. |
| While one man, Rudy Guede, from Ivory Coast, has been definitively convicted of her murder after a fast-track trial and is serving a 16-year sentence in an Italian jail, prosecutors have always alleged that Knox and Sollecito played a part in the killing alongside him. | While one man, Rudy Guede, from Ivory Coast, has been definitively convicted of her murder after a fast-track trial and is serving a 16-year sentence in an Italian jail, prosecutors have always alleged that Knox and Sollecito played a part in the killing alongside him. |
| The two were convicted and given hefty jail sentences in 2009, before having those verdicts overturned on appeal in Perugia in 2011. Knox flew home to the US, while Sollecito pursued his studies, only for Italy's top appeals court to annul the first appeal verdict in March last year and order a new appeal to take place in Florence. | The two were convicted and given hefty jail sentences in 2009, before having those verdicts overturned on appeal in Perugia in 2011. Knox flew home to the US, while Sollecito pursued his studies, only for Italy's top appeals court to annul the first appeal verdict in March last year and order a new appeal to take place in Florence. |
| In its written reasoning, released later last year, the court of cassation picked holes in the Perugia appeal court's handling of the case, accusing it of "numerous deficiencies, contradictions and manifest lack of logic". | In its written reasoning, released later last year, the court of cassation picked holes in the Perugia appeal court's handling of the case, accusing it of "numerous deficiencies, contradictions and manifest lack of logic". |
| With Knox, now a student at the University of Washington, absent from the proceedings, the new appeal got under way in the Tuscan capital in September. While ordering a new DNA test and hearing some new witness testimony, it largely focused on the same key questions as before. | With Knox, now a student at the University of Washington, absent from the proceedings, the new appeal got under way in the Tuscan capital in September. While ordering a new DNA test and hearing some new witness testimony, it largely focused on the same key questions as before. |
| Sollecito, 29, attended some hearings, in November making an emotional appeal to the court. | Sollecito, 29, attended some hearings, in November making an emotional appeal to the court. |
| In his closing arguments prosecutor Alessandro Crini moved away from previous theories that the murder had been part of a sex game gone wrong, arguing it was possible Kercher was killed as a result of a violent row in the house over cleanliness. | In his closing arguments prosecutor Alessandro Crini moved away from previous theories that the murder had been part of a sex game gone wrong, arguing it was possible Kercher was killed as a result of a violent row in the house over cleanliness. |
| In their summing-up, Knox's defence lawyers slammed the theory as ridiculous, arguing that the prosecution had never been able to settle on a convincing motive for why their client would want to kill Kercher. | In their summing-up, Knox's defence lawyers slammed the theory as ridiculous, arguing that the prosecution had never been able to settle on a convincing motive for why their client would want to kill Kercher. |
| Luciano Ghirga, a lawyer for Knox, said on Wednesday he was confident. | Luciano Ghirga, a lawyer for Knox, said on Wednesday he was confident. |
| At a hearing this month, prosecutors called for "cautionary measures" to be taken in the event that the convictions are upheld. While for Knox, watching the proceedings from Seattle, this would have little effect, for Sollecito it could mean having his passport confiscated, house arrest or even jail. | At a hearing this month, prosecutors called for "cautionary measures" to be taken in the event that the convictions are upheld. While for Knox, watching the proceedings from Seattle, this would have little effect, for Sollecito it could mean having his passport confiscated, house arrest or even jail. |