Kercher family will head to Perugia for Knox verdicts

THE family of murdered University of Leeds student Meredith Kercher are expected to return this weekend to the Italian city where she died, their lawyer said.
By The Newsroom
Published 28th Sep 2011, 15:10 BST

The student, who came from Coulsdon, Surrey, was on a year abroad in Perugia when she was killed after what prosecutors said was a bungled sex game forced on her by housemate Amanda Knox and others.

American Knox, 24, and her Italian ex-boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito, 27, were jailed for the murder in 2009 but appealed against their convictions and are soon to learn whether they will be released.

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The Kerchers, who have visited the Umbrian hilltop city a few times already to watch the judicial proceedings take place, will fly in on Saturday for the result of the appeal, Francesco Maresca said.

The verdict is expected to be delivered either on Saturday or early next week after a final courtroom showdown this week, with lawyers for all parties ramping up the rhetoric in their bids for victory.

On Monday, Knox was labelled a lying, sex-loving she-devil by lawyer Carlo Pacelli, who represents a man she falsely accused of the murder, Diya “Patrick” Lumumba.

Sollecito’s lawyer, Giulia Bongiorno, hit back on Tuesday, saying she was not the “femme fatale” her accusers describe her as, but was as faithful as the Who Framed Roger Rabbit character Jessica Rabbit.

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The body of Miss Kercher, 21, was found in her bedroom on November 2, 2007. Her throat had been slit and her semi-naked body was partially covered by a duvet.

Knox was sentenced to 26 years in prison and Sollecito to 25 for the murder, but both have protested their innocence from behind bars and hope to see their convictions overturned in the coming days.

A third person, small-time drug dealer Rudy Guede from the Ivory Coast, was also jailed for the murder and sexual violence in separate proceedings. His 30-year sentence was cut to 16 years on appeal.