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Murdered student's family accept Italian court's verdict
The family of murdered British student Meredith Kercher said they were satisfied but not pleased after a man was jailed for 30 years for her murder in Italy.
- Reuters
- Published: 23:43 October 29, 2008
London: The family of murdered British student Meredith Kercher said they were satisfied but not pleased after a man was jailed for 30 years for her murder in Italy.
Rudy Guede, 21, was sentenced on Tuesday for the rape and murder of the 21-year-old, whose semi-naked body was found in her flat in the university city of Perugia in central Italy last November.
"We are as pleased as we can be with the decision," her brother Lyle told a news conference after the sentence was announced.
"It is important to remember why we are here at the end of the day: it is because our sister Meredith was murdered. Pleased isn't an appropriate word. I think satisfied is probably the best we can say."
The victim's other brother John said the family was overwhelmed by the verdict, while her sister Stephanie said: "Today has been really important in our steps towards justice for Meredith."
Fast-track procedure
Judge Paolo Micheli also ordered Kercher's flatmate, American exchange student Amanda Knox, 21, and Knox's Italian former boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito, 24, to stand trial on murder charges. Their trial will start on December 4.
Prosecutors say Kercher, from Coulsdon, south London, was fatally stabbed in the neck when the three suspects tried to involve her in an orgy. She was in Italy as part of University of Leeds language course.
Guede, who can appeal the verdict, had agreed to a fast-track procedure with no jury, which allows suspects to receive a lesser sentence if they are convicted.
Prosecutors had sought life imprisonment for Guede, who fled Italy after the murder and was extradited back from Germany.
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