American Student Jailed Over Italy Murder

An Italian judge ruled Friday that an American student, her Italian boyfriend and a Congolese bar owner should remain in jail as suspects in the death of a British student, a lawyer said.

Amanda Marie Knox, 20, Raffaele Sollecito, 24, and Diya "Patrick" Lumumba, 38, have been detained in connection with the sexual assault and killing of Knox's roommate, Meredith Kercher, 21, who was found dead Nov. 2.

Knox has been formally arrested but has not yet been charged, Sky News' Greg Miliam told The Early Show.

Judge Claudia Matteini said in a 19-page ruling that there was sufficient evidence to keep them in jail for up to a year while the investigation continues, said Luca Maori, one of Sollecito's lawyers.

"We didn't expect it," Maori told reporters, adding that he planned to appeal.

He cautioned that he still had to read the ruling, but said that the defense team was "perplexed" by the judge's decision.

The three have denied involvement in the killing, according to their lawyers.

Under Italian law, suspects can be kept behind bars without being charged if a judge rules there is enough evidence to jail them and there is a chance they might flee, repeat the crime or tamper with evidence. Depending on the course of the investigation, prosecutors may later seek to indict the suspects and put them on trial.

Kercher's body was found in the apartment she shared with Knox and police said she died fighting off a sexual attack. The coroner said Kercher was stabbed in the neck, but police say no murder weapon has been found.

Italian newspapers have reported that Kercher was found with reporters Knox's bloody fingerprint on her face.

Jeff Tripoli, a friend of Knox's from the University of Washington told The Early Show co-anchor Hannah Storm that she has been misportrayed in the media as a "party girl."

"I don't think there's a harmful bone in her body," he said. "I've never seen her do anything to excess that any other college student wouldn't do."