Knox in court for murder conviction appeal

Amanda Knox will appear in court today to appeal against her conviction for the brutal murder of British student Meredith Kercher.

The American student known as Foxy Knoxy was found guilty of killing the 21-year-old after what prosecutors claimed was a sex game taken to the extreme.

Her Italian former lover, Raffaele Sollecito, was also jailed last December for the murder in the Italian town of Perugia and will appeal alongside Knox.

Knox’s lawyers hope they can use new evidence to clear her and will try to introduce new witnesses.

Along with Sollecito’s legal team, they are also seeking a full review of the forensic evidence, including disputed traces of DNA found on a knife allegedly used in the murder and on the clasp of Miss Kercher’s bra.

The defence maintains that the DNA evidence was inconclusive and has also argued it may have been contaminated when analysed.

But there is a risk for 23-year-old Knox: if her conviction is upheld, she could face an even harsher sentence than the 26-year jail term she is already serving.

Prosecutors, who had sought a life sentence in the original trial, have also appealed, as they are entitled to do in Italy.

Today’s hearing is expected to deal largely with technical matters and will include the setting of a timetable for subsequent hearings.

The case will then to be adjourned, probably to December.

As in the original trial, the verdict will be decided by the judge, a fellow magistrate and six jurors.

The result of the appeal may not come before the New Year.

Knox and Sollecito were given prison sentences of 26 years and 25 years respectively last December.

Prosecutors said the pair killed Miss Kercher in what began as a sex game and ended with Sollecito holding her down while Knox cut her throat with a six-inch kitchen knife.

In their appeal motion, defence lawyers were sharply critical of the verdict, maintaining it was based on mere hypotheses and saying that the motive was absent.

Knox, from Seattle, has continued to protest her innocence from behind bars and her family remain insistent there is no proof their daughter killed the University of Leeds student.

Speaking earlier this week, they said they were hopeful that judges would decide to free her and Sollecito after re-examining the evidence.

Her mother, Edda Mellas, told Daybreak on ITV1: “We believe that if the judges and the jury take a look at just the evidence and what we’re bringing up in the appeal it’s a no-brainer and they will let Amanda go.”

Her father, Curt Knox, told the programme: “I look at it as this is a point that is Amanda’s next chance to be found innocent, which she is.

“And, you know, this is where the physical evidence review is going to be a real key factor.

“And we’re looking forward to that and having an independent evaluation and, I think, once that takes place, both her and Raffaele will be let go.”

Miss Kercher, from Coulsdon, Surrey, was found dead on November 2, 2007 in her bedroom at the house in the Umbrian hilltop town that she shared with Knox and others during her year abroad.

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

Sollecito, 26, who reportedly achieved an engineering degree in prison recently, has also maintained his innocence throughout.

Speaking ahead of the appeal, his lawyer Luca Maori said he was “hopeful but apprehensive”.

Small-time drug dealer Rudy Guede, an immigrant from the Ivory Coast, was also jailed for the murder and sexual violence at an earlier, fast-track trial in October 2008.

His 30-year jail sentence was cut to 16 years when he appealed against his conviction.

In separate proceedings, Knox faces charges she slandered police while giving evidence in court last year.

If she is convicted in her trial for slander, which begins in May, any prison sentence she receives would be added to her current sentence.