U.S. Student Accused Of "Satanic" Slaying

American Amanda Knox Denies Involvement In Murder Of Her Housemate In Italian Town

(CBS/ AP)  Prosecutors on Saturday accused an American student of fatally stabbing her British housemate in a Satanic rite in Perugia, Italy last year and asked a court to convict and punish an alleged African accomplice with life imprisonment, defense lawyers said.

The American, Amanda Knox, 21, proclaimed her innocence at the closed-door hearing in the Umbrian university town and emotionally accused police of hitting her on the head and calling her a liar during an interrogation, defense lawyers said.

"It was expected" that prosecutors would seek a harsh penalty, said Valter Biscotti, a lawyer for Rudy Hermann Guede, the Ivorian accused in the case.

At his lawyers' request, a fast-track trial is being conducted for Guede. He has acknowledged being in the bedroom where Meredith Kercher's body, stabbed in the neck and lying in a pool of blood, was found in November 2007 in the house she rented with Knox.

Fast-track trials can sometimes result in lighter penalties. But prosecutors asked the court Saturday to convict Guede and mete out Italy's stiffest punishment - life imprisonment. Italy does not have the death penalty.

The court deciding Guede's fate is also hearing arguments to determine if Knox and her former boyfriend, Italian student Raffaele Sollecito, should stand trial for the slaying. A ruling on prosecutors' request for their indictment is expected for the end of October.

All three suspects have repeatedly denied wrongdoing in the slaying, which took place in Perugia, a university town with a large foreign student population.

Knox told the closed court hearing, "Meredith was my friend… I had no reason to kill her," reported CBS News correspondent Allen Pizzey.

Prosecutors at Saturday's hearing "laid out a scenario like from some crime novel," Sollecito's lawyer, Luca Maori, said by telephone after a seven-hour hearing.

Prosecutors "alleged it was some kind of Satanic rite, with Amanda allegedly first touching Meredith with the point of a knife, then slitting her throat, while Sollecito held her by the shoulders, from behind, Guede held her by an arm" and tried to sexually penetrate the victim, Maori said.

One of Knox's lawyers, Carlo della Vedova, told reporters outside the courtroom that prosecutors had laid out "a presumed scenario" with no hard evidence that would justify a trial for his client.

Prosecutor Giuliano Mignini, contacted by The AP, declined to elaborate on his allegations Saturday about the slaying or comment on his request for life imprisonment for Guede.

Another member of Knox's defense team, Luciano Ghirga, described the American as being "disappointed" when the prosecutors pushed for the stiffest sentence for Guede.

The case has received heavy publicity in Italy, in Britain, and in the United States, where Knox is a University of Washington student.

Knox asked permission during the closed-door hearing to make a declaration in English. "She proclaimed her innocence, and got emotional when she recalled her interrogation by police in Perugia," Ghirga said in a telephone interview.

The lawyer denied Italian news reports that she wept while addressing the court, but said Knox was upset as she recounted "the pressure, the aggressiveness of the police who called her a liar."

Maori said Knox also accused the police of hitting her on the head during her questioning.

Italian TV showed a brief, partial view of Knox as she given a microphone to address the court. Only her hands, busily gesticulating as she addressed the court, could be seen. There was no audio.

Knox and Sollecito have been jailed as suspects since shortly after the slaying. Under Italian law, they can be jailed for as long as a year during the investigation. Pizzey reported that there has been increasing criticism over how long the Italian authorities are taking to process the case.

Knox and Sollecito, 24, have given conflicting statements.

Sollecito has said he was at his own apartment in Perugia. He said he does not remember if Knox spent the whole night with him.

Knox has insisted she was not at home during the slaying. But at one point, she also told prosecutors she was in the house the night of the slaying and covered her ears to muffle Kercher's screams while a Congolese man who owns a pub in the town killed Kercher. The Congolese man was initially jailed, but authorities released him, saying he was no longer a suspect.

[barbaram99]

The actile has the word satanic in in. Therefore the 2 forces are good and evil. Clean the church up. Find out why she as she did, wHAT THEY LEARNING TO DAY.

[barbaram99]

Have ye forgot the witch burnings the like the earty days in New Endland...Yep, They happened.. Mostly the handicapped,metally ill. Church as blood on her hands and nobody dare say nothing agaist that. Have read about it. IT HAS NEVER ENDED, And wont as long ye suport such acts..

[stopsocialis]

[Well, until one redneck E- van-jelly-cul slithers from beneath a rock to tell me the he KNOWS Satan exists. No proof. He jist knows it.]


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Posted by jMcGilvray at 12:46 AM : Oct 21, 2008

The proof comes out in people like you, who are indirect servants of satan and don''t even know it.

[stopsocialis]

Hey newster1, were you involved in this?

[collegedudeu]

An American
A Brit
A black African

Does it disturb anyone else that the three suspects also happen to be the three most hated demographics in Italy?

[squeakof2006]

I just wonder, if she did it, why the Italians are so slow to prosecute? This sounds wrong. It''s like they want to make an example, so why not use the "outsiders"? Oh, and America isn''t exactly popular right now... hmmm... It should make one wonder...

[juliemd]

Well, I was going to make a comment here, but I can''t top the craziness! There must be something up with the planets, or aliens, or something...

[slim1h2o]

"Inquisition is alive & well in Italy.... still"

The Inquisition was Spain not Italy ignoramus.

Posted by loon0519 at 06:11 PM : Oct 20, 2008


Yeah, but the same happened in Rome.
And else wheres......

[loon0519]

"Inquisition is alive & well in Italy.... still"

The Inquisition was Spain not Italy ignoramus.

[presjfk]

She is way too hot to be guilty.

[tipsyinct]

also just wanted to say, that is one HOT alledged murderer!!

[proundy-2009]

bobnjersey:

I was not arguing that there are no mentally ill religious people, but simply that it has been shown that, on average, the religious are more mentally healthy than the non-religious. Which, as I said previously, runs completely contrary to the idea that to have belief/faith is akin to having a mental disorder.

[sethw76]

Why are you people arguing politics here? This doesn''t have anything to do with politics. Go and troll on another news story.

[bobnjersey]

[Individuals who possess high levels of religiosity have been shown to: (1)Have LESS incidence of mental health problems than an average U.S. citizen ... So all of the anti-Christian and anti-religion nonsense on this board is just that %u2013 nonsense. (Or maybe it%u2019s remorse for what you%u2019re missing out on%u2026)]
[Posted by proundy at 12:27 PM : Oct 20, 2008]

so ... did the study say there wasn''t any instances of mental issues for either group? it said there are fewer instances, correct?

[jennasmith2]

Inquisition is alive & well in Italy.... still

[G H M]

I hope for her parents sake she is innocent and is freed

gop_will_win ,
I worried about you.
Remember, Take Your Pills,

[Netterz]

I guess I just dont get why under ANY news story, regardless of its content, turns into some idiotic political argument, that has no baring on the article. Why cant all of the living room armchair pundits stick to the political section?

[G H M]

listenupfool, yes I might be illiterate , sorry about that.
Still
My prayers are with the Parents.

Some of you just came from a Palin rellie - didn''t you.
Terrorist, kill, Moslin, tax,

Get a Life!!
Are you really better off because of the last 8 years!
Whats it take for you to learn?

[gop_will_win]

Yeah? If that is the case you had better run. I thought his return was to punish the evil. I guess you qualify.



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Posted by knowhr
====================
You guessed wrong.

[gop_will_win]

How did this turn into a political/religious argument? This is about a murder case in Italy. Some of you need to get a grip and take your discussion somewhere more appropriate.


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Posted by rematenaj
======================
The killing was a satanic ritual einstein.