Accused saw Kercher 'hours' before murder, court told

Amanda Knox last saw British student Meredith Kercher a few hours before she was killed, the American murder suspect told a court today.

Giving evidence for the first time, Knox (aged 21) told a crowded courtroom she had said goodbye to Miss Kercher in the cottage they shared, before spending the night of the murder at the apartment of her then lover, Raffaele Sollecito.

“We smoked a joint and made love,” she told the court.

Miss Kercher (aged 21) from Coulsdon, Surrey, was found dead in her bedroom on November 2, 2007 in the house she lived in with Knox and others on her year abroad in the Umbrian town.

Her throat had been slit and her semi-naked body was partially covered by a duvet.

Prosecutors accuse Knox and 25-year-old Italian Sollecito of killing the Leeds University student after she refused to take part in a sex game.

Dressed in a white blouse and beige trousers and with her hair tied back with a blue scrunchie, Knox, from Seattle, addressed the court in the fluent Italian she has learned during her year-and-a-half in prison in the country.

She said she and Miss Kercher had a good relationship.

Together the two of them discussed literature, dined in restaurants and went to Perugia’s annual chocolate festival, she said.

“If one of us had a problem with the other, we would talk about it and sort it out,” she said.

She told the court what had happened after she had left Sollecito’s apartment on November 2.

“I went home and saw the door was open and thought it strange,” she said.

“I called: ’Is anyone there?’ No one answered.

“I went to my room and changed, went to the bathroom and saw spots of blood there.

“I had a shower and on the way back to my room I saw blood on the floor. I thought: ’Hm, strange.’

“I put on my clothes in my room, then I went to the other bathroom to brush my hair. I saw traces of faeces in the toilet.”

She said she was disgusted by this.

She went on: “I called Meredith, who didn’t answer.”

She said she then called another of her flatmates, Filomena Romanelli, who returned to the cottage and found her window had been broken.

“We found Meredith’s door was locked,” said Knox.

“Filomena was saying ’Mama mia, it’s never locked!’. I said that sometimes Meredith locked it when she had a shower or when she went to England.”

But she added: “I felt strange, it was a strange situation.”

She said she had not seen the murder scene but everyone was talking about it.

“I heard there was a body in there. There was lots of confusion,” she said.

“I was in shock. I couldn’t believe what had happened, couldn’t accept it.”

She never dreamed she would become a suspect, she added.

“I never thought of hiring a lawyer. I couldn’t understand why I was arrested,” she said.

She explained to the court why she had implicated Congolese bar owner Patrick Lumumba during her “long and difficult” police interrogation.

“Everything (I) said was said in confusion and under pressure,” she said.

“They (the officers questioning me) were suggesting Patrick Lumumba so the first thing I said was: ’OK, Patrick’.”

She said before she named Lumumba, police accused her of trying to protect someone.

“When I denied that, they called me a stupid liar,” she said.

She repeated her accusation that police officers hit her twice on the back of her head during the interrogation.

Mr Lumumba, who was arrested but released without charge after an alibi came forward, is claiming damages against Knox for defaming him.

His civil action is taking place alongside the criminal trial.

Both Knox and Sollecito deny any wrongdoing.

Speaking outside court, Knox’s father, Kurt Knox, said his daughter’s testimony would show the world she was not the “dark angel” she has been depicted as.

He said: “People will see she’s just a regular kid.”

Knox remained calm and composed for most of the day, faltering only occasionally.

If found guilty, the former lovers face a sentence of life imprisonment.

A third person charged with the killing, Ivory Coast national Rudy Guede (aged 22) was found guilty of murder and sexual violence in October last year.

He was sentenced to 30 years in prison following a fast-track trial held behind closed doors.

His appeal hearing has been set for November 18.

The trial of Knox and Sollecito was adjourned to tomorrow.