Amanda Knox Verdict: Italian Jury Will Announce Decision at 6 P.M. Eastern

By: Carlin DeGuerin Miller
Topics: Daily Blotter

(AP Photo/Pier Paolo Cito)

(AP Photo/Stefano Medici)

PERUGIA, Italy (CBS/AP) An Italian jury has reached a verdict in the trial of American Amanda Knox and her Italian ex-boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito, who are standing trial for the murder of Knox' British roommate Meredith Kercher.

Photo: Amanda Knox

The court is expected to announce the verdict at 6 p.m. EST, from the eight members of the jury, including two judges, who were sequestered in a room in the Perugia courthouse.

In November 2007, Kercher, 21, was found fatally stabbed in the neck in her bedroom at the home she rented with Knox in the central Italian university town of Perugia, where Kercher, Knox and Sollecito were all students.

Photo: Meredith Kercher's sister Stephanie and mother Arline arrive in Perugia, Italy, Dec. 4, 2009.

Prosecutors claimed that Knox, Sollecito, and another man, Rudy Guede, who has already been convicted, killed Kercher in a sex game gone wrong. They have claimed DNA evidence puts the suspects at the scene.

Knox and co-defendant Raffaele Sollecito insist they are innocent. Their lawyers have argued that the DNA evidence against them was tainted; the knife prosecutors claim is the murder weapon does not fit Kercher's wounds; and they have derided the supposed sex game motive as nonsense.

Photo: From left, Chris Mellas, Edda Mellas and Curt Knox respectively stepfather, mother and father of Amanda Knox arrive at Perugia's court Nov. 28, 2009.

Both Knox, who is from Seattle, and Sollecito have been jailed since shortly after the slaying. They were taken to their cells as they awaited the ruling.

Photo: Murder victim Meredith Kercher.

Kercher's parents, John and Arline Kercher, arrived in Perugia Friday evening with their surviving children Stephanie and Layle.

They were surrounded by photographers and television cameras as they tried to make their way into the hotel but refused to comment as reporters asked them what they expected from the verdict.

Curt Knox, Amanda Knox's father, did talk to reporters outside the Perugia courthouse. "They've got two 20-old kids and they are going to be determining their life," he said of the jury.

If Knox and Sollecito are convicted, they could receive life in prison, Italy's maximum penalty.

TELEVISION
48 Hours Mystery will examine the case and the aftermath of the verdict Saturday Dec. 5, at 10 p.m. ET/PT

MORE ON CRIMESIDER
December 3, 2009 - Amanda Knox Pleads With Jury: I'm No "Assassin"
December 1, 2009 - Lawsuits Fly in Amanda Knox Murder Trial
November 24, 2009 - Amanda Knox: Sex-Game Murder Charge is "Pure Fantasy;" Italian Prosecutors Want Life Sentence
November 20, 2009 - Amanda Knox Trial: Convicted Killer Fingers Knox for Meredith Kercher Murder
June 19, 2009 - Knox's Mom Says Daughter, Victim Got Along
June 15, 2009 - "Always A Crescendo:" Amanda Knox Talks About Murder Investigation On Stand
June 12, 2009 - Knox's Alibi: Sex, Drugs And Sleep
June 12, 2009 - Amanda Knox Finally Tells Her Side Of The Story
June 8, 2009 - Amanda Knox Set To Testify In Italian Murder Trial
June 5, 2009 - Victim's Family To Testify In Amanda Knox In Italian Murder Trial

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