Assoociated Press
PERUGIA, Italy (AP) — An American college student and her former boyfriend were ordered Tuesday to stand trial in last year's slaying of her roommate, while the judge also convicted an Ivory Coast man in the killing, lawyers said.
The judge indicted Amanda Knox, 21, of Seattle and Raffaele Sollecito of Italy on charges of murder and sexual violence in the stabbing death of Meredith Kercher of England, said Francesco Maresca, a lawyer for the victim's family. Trial for the two, who deny wrongdoing, will start Dec. 4.
A third suspect, Rudy Hermann Guede of the West African nation of Ivory Coast, was sentenced to 30 years in prison after being convicted on the same charges in a fast-track trial requested by his defense, Maresca said. Prosecutors asked for life in jail.
Knox's attorney, Luciano Ghirga, said his client "was quite disappointed" by the ruling. "She is ready to start again," Ghirga told reporters. "The (first) hearing is very close, we have to reorganize our defense line in time."
Judge Paolo Micheli emerged with a verdict after almost 12 of hours of deliberations. All the proceedings were held behind closed doors and the three suspects awaited the ruling in separate cells at the courthouse.
Lawyers for Knox and Sollecito, who were jailed shortly after the slaying last Nov. 2, had asked that their clients be granted house arrest if indicted. Lawyers leaving the courthouse said Micheli did not rule on the request and a decision was expected in the coming days. If convicted, Knox and Sollecito could face life in prison.
Kercher's family, including her mother, father, two brothers and a sister attended the hearing.
"We are as pleased as we can be with the decision. At the end of the day, we are here because our sister Meredith was murdered," brother Lyle Kercher said at a news conference.
The victim's other brother, John, said he was "overwhelmed" when the judge handed down the guilty verdict for Guede.
Knox's divorced parents, Curt Knox and Edda Mellas, said in a statement they were "extremely disappointed and surprised" by the judge's decision, "given the weakness of the evidence against" their daughter.
"We believe that she will eventually be proven innocent of all charges against her and we will support her in every way possible as we work toward her complete exoneration," the parents said.
Kercher, a 21-year-old student from England, was found dead in the apartment she shared with Knox. She had been stabbed in the neck.
Prosecutors allege Kercher died during what began as a sex game, with Sollecito holding her by the shoulders from behind while Knox touched her with the point of a knife and Guede tried to sexually assault her. Prosecutors say Knox then fatally stabbed Kercher in the throat.
Guede, also 21, admitted being in the house, but denied any part in the killing. He said that he was in the bathroom when Kercher was attacked and that he rushed into the bedroom to try to rescue her. He said he fled Italy after the slaying because he was frightened. Guede's defense said it would appeal the verdict.
Sollecito, 24, has said that he was in his own apartment in Perugia at the time of the killing and that he doesn't remember if Knox spent part or all of that night with him.
Knox initially told investigators she was in the apartment when Kercher was killed and covered her ears against the victim's screams. Later, Knox said she wasn't in the house.
Prosecutors say Knox's DNA was found on the handle of a knife that might have been used in the slaying, while Kercher's DNA was found on the blade.
They say they found Sollecito's DNA on the victim's bra, although Sollecito's defense team says the bra bore multiple DNA traces and argue the evidence might have been inadvertently contaminated during the investigation.
4 comments:
This 'evidence' in this case is ridiculous. Of course Amanda's DNA is evident throughout the apartment, including on kitchen utensils, she LIVED there!
The evidence is flimsy, the prosecutor obviously enjoys creating scenarios will garner him the utmost in attention and publicity.
All the while an innocent young woman suffers in your jails and a mother suffers as well.
Were it possible to determine much about a person's character based on circumstances I would assume that you were a smarmy gossip on par with a rag publication like the Daily Mail who enjoys repeating slanderous and offensive rumor and innuendo. Perhaps it is impossible to judge someone or evaluate their character based on circumstance...huh?
As a Daily Mail reader I find your comments rather silly and immature, reflecting your personality no doubt. The Daily mail is a bastion of the free British Press and nothing in America comes close to it's high quality media coverage. Our stance is righteously Christian Conservative and anti-immigration. Sadly the death Of Merdith reflects one of the dangers of poorly managed immigration. Concerning Amanda Knox, you conveniently skim over the fact that she lied so many times to prosecutors over her story that this evidence will ultimatley be decisive against her regardless of the compelling forensics.
There are two excellent websites about the Meredith Kercher case.
True Justice For Meredith Kercher:
http://truejustice.org/ee/index.php
Perugia Murder File:
http://perugiamurderfile.freeforums.o...
ALL the judges who have been involved in the case: Judge Claudia Matteini, the judges at the Italian Supreme Court, judge Massimo Riccarelli, and judge Paolo Micheli all thought there were serious indications of Amanda Knox's and Raffaele Sollecito’s guilt and refused to grant them bail on the grounds that they are mentally unstable, dangerous and could reoffend.
The case against Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito is formidable.
There are 13 pieces of forensic evidence that link Amanda and Raffaele to the crime, including Amanda's DNA on the handle of the knife found at Raffaele's apartment and Meredith's DNA on the blade, and Amanda's bare footprints set in Meredith's blood and Raffaele's DNA on Meredith's bloodied and cut bra.
Amanda and Raffaele knew precise details about Meredith's body which they could only have known if they had been present when Meredith was murdered. Amanda herself admitted she was present when Meredith was murdered in her handwritten note to the police on 6 November.
Amanda and Raffaele not only gave conflicting witness statements, but also gave completely different accounts of where they were, who they were with and what they were doing on the night of the murder.
In the light of the judges decisions so far and the forensic evidence which was independently confirmed as accurate and reliable, it looks extremely unlikely that Amanda and Raffaele will be found not guilty.
Sincerely, I hope they get to the bottom of this case. My heart goes out to the Karcher family, and perhaps to the Knox family too. Amanda and her boyfriend ( now ex, they are lining up against one another) are terribly complicit in the murder of this exceptional young woman, and I hope the Italian courts do the right thing.
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