First evidence heard in Perugia murder case

A jury in Italy has been hearing the first evidence in the trial of two former lovers accused of murdering British student Meredith Kercher in November 2007.

Kercher, 21, an exchange student from Leeds, was found dead, semi-naked with her throat slit, in the house she shared with other students in the central Italian town of Perugia. One man, Rudy Hermann Guede from the Ivory Coast, has already been jailed for 30 years for her murder. The prosecution argues that he was assisted by Kercher’s flatmate, US student Amanda Knox, and Knox’s then boyfriend, Italian graduate Raffaele Sollecito. It is alleged that after Meredith refused to take part in sex games with them, the men held the victim while Knox stabbed her. Both of the accused deny any involvement. In a spontaneous statement before evidence was given, Sollecito told the judge that he “would not harm a fly”, and that he regarded himself as the victim of a judicial error. The trial is expected to last at least until the summer.

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