U.S. Student Indicted In Italy Slay Case

American To Stand Trial For Murder Of U.K. Roommate; Ivory Coast National Convicted In Case

(CBS/AP)  An Ivory Coast national was convicted Tuesday of murdering a British woman in central Italy, while a judge ruled that an American student and her former Italian boyfriend must stand trial for the same crime, lawyers said.

The judge indicted Amanda Knox of Seattle and Raffaele Sollecito on charges of murder and sexual violence in the slaying of Meredith Kercher in Perugia last year, said Francesco Maresca, a lawyer for the victim's family. The trial will start Dec. 4.

A third suspect, Rudy Hermann Guede of Ivory Coast, was sentenced to 30 years in jail after his defense requested a fast-track trial, Maresca said. Prosecutors had asked for life in prison, but such a sentence is normally reduced to 30 years in a fast-track trial.

All suspects deny wrongdoing.

Kercher, a 21-year-old student from England, was found dead Nov. 2 in the apartment she shared with Knox. She died from a stab wound to the neck.

Judge Paolo Micheli emerged with a verdict after almost 12 of hours of deliberations. All the proceedings were held behind closed doors.

Lawyers for Knox and Sollecito, who were jailed shortly after the slaying, had asked that their clients be granted house arrest if indicted. Lawyers leaving the court house in Perugia said Micheli did not rule on the request and a decision is expected in the coming days.

Prosecutors allege that 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.

CBS News correspondent Allen Pizzey reports the most damning evidence appears to have been the fact that both Knox's and her boyfriend's DNA were found on the clasp of Kercher's bra.

Sollecito's defense team says the bra bore multiple DNA traces and charge the evidence might have been inadvertently contaminated during the investigation.

"One issue on which no one disagreed was that the 21-year-old British student Meredith Kercher was decent, well liked, and an innocent victim," reports Pizzey.

Kercher's family is seeking some $32 million in civil damages which they almost certainly cannot collect but, Pizzey says, if awarded it would deny the accused any profits from books or movies.

Guede has acknowledged being in the house, saying he was in the bathroom when Kercher was attacked and that he rushed into the bedroom to try to rescue her. Scared, he immediately fled the scene, he said.

Sollecito, 24, has said he was in his own apartment in Perugia and that he doesn't remember if Knox spent part or all of that night with him.

Knox, 21, initially told investigators she was in the house 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.

[apitaly]

What we have here is another Casey Anthony.... SOCIOPATH... KNOX should be glad she didn''t do this in the US where, depending upon the state... Death Penalty... LIFE in Italy is a Maximum of ONLY 30 years.

[lord_denning]

Score one for Lady Justice!

And shame on CBS for hiring a private investigator (Paul Ciolino) for its ''48 Hours Mystery'' coverage of this case.

How could the network that brought us ''60 Minutes'' (to wit, the platinum standard for investigative TV reporting since 1968) subjugate itself in this way?

Cicolino''s desire to promote himself appears to have allowed him to become wilfully blind to a simple fact:

Amanda Knox has a criminal record in America.

A simple search of the public records on the Seattle Municipal Court''s website shows that Amanda Knox was found to have committed an offence in connection with an off-campus rock throwing riot at the U of Washington in 2007. (Search for Case #202557635)

Thus, contrary to assertions made by Knox''s parents (and the obviously biased Cicolino), Amanda was
beginning to show her dark side BEFORE she left for Italy.

Sadly, by delegating investigative duties to Cicolino (a private individual clearly motivated by self-interest/promotion rather than ''journalistic integrity''), CBS News has (perhaps unwittingly) helped to undermine not only the administration of justice in Italy, but the memory of Ms. Meredith Kercher and her family''s hopes for justice in the wake of this unutterably horrific crime.

[tmittelstaed]

I don''t understand this one. You have a dead body and 2 or 3 witnesses to a murder, one of whom was the murderer, plus abundant DNA evidence. It''s simple policework to separate all of them and start questioning them and compare notes to uncover discrepancies. And if they won''t talk to the police, you just tell all of them they will be given 30 years for murder if they don''t cooperate, and the two witnesses who wern''t holding the knife will plea bargain testify against the one that was. This is basic police/prosecution work here, and should have been concluded months ago.

[mediabrat60]

tmittelstaed:

LOL! You have got to be kidding!?
Aparrently you watch WAY too many CSI episodes!!

If we came to your house, would your DNA be on any of your kitchen knives? or any other items there? Possibly a roommates clothing, if you were a 21 year old female college student??

[koalabeer1]

I know this trial is in another country, and I know it''s a fascinating case, not least because FoxyKnoxy is such a babe, at least superficially; but I must say I don''t think members of the public should be even allowed to comment in such a public forum about the case. A jury is yet to be drawn; it will be increasingly difficult to find prospective jury members who have an open mind on the subject, etc.

C''mon guys - give justice a chance. Give these people a chance.

[fulghum2]

I don''t believe "for one second" Amanda killed her. Get real.

[alliekat6]

After reading the 48 hours report, and the comments made, i realised just how ''sheltered'' Americans are when it comes to news coverage.
Amanda Knox may well be innocent, if she is, she has done herself no favours with the contradictions in her own story.
As for those who wonder about European Justice, like the American system it has it''s flaws, but as she is in Italy she will have been covered by the European Human Rights act, which gives her as many rights as if she were in America, including the right to a fair trial.
Read the reports on this case from around the world, Amanda Knox is not the little innocent portrayed by her family..........