"
Raffaele Sollecito, Amanda Knox and Rudy Guede. Photographs: AP and EPA
Rudy Guede has tonight been sentenced to 30 years in prison for the murder of British student Meredith Kercher, an Italian judge has ruled.
The judge at the court in Perugia also ruled that there was sufficient evidence available for Amanda Knox and Rafaelle Sollecito to stand full trial for Kercher's murder.
Knox, 21, a US student, and Sollecito, 24, an Italian IT graduate, were
accused of having killed Kercher in the course of a sex game that went wrong, alongside Rudy Hermann Guede, 21.
Kercher's semi-naked body was found on November 2 in her bedroom in the cottage she shared with Knox. Her throat had been cut.
Lawyer Francesco Maresca, who represents Miss Kercher's family, said: ""We are very satisfied, even though this was a young man who faces a very heavy sentence.""
For the past two months, Guede, from Ivory Coast, has been involved in a fast-track trial at his own request on charges of murder and attempted
sexual assault. He has the right to appeal the sentence.
At the same time, judge Paolo Micheli listened to evidence from lawyers
for Knox and Sollecito in pre-trial hearings to decide whether the pair
should face trial over the student's murder.
Knox and Sollecito have been held in jail since shortly after the murder and the judge has tonight indicated that he would not grant their requests for house arrest. The trial is set to begin on December 4.
It is now close to a year since the British student was found dead, two
months after she arrived in the Umbrian hilltop town to begin a one-year
Erasmus programme studying modern history, political theory and the
history of cinema.
The prosecution said the three were taking part in a Halloween-inspired
sex party, in which Kercher had been forced to participate.
They said Knox had stabbed Kercher in the throat while Sollecito held her down and Guede tried to sexually assault her.
Guede admitted 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, but he was scared and immediately fled the scene.
Sollecito said he was in his own apartment in Perugia and that he does not remember if Knox spent part or all of that night with him.
Knox initially told investigators she was in the house when Kercher was killed, and covered her ears when she heard screams. Later, she said she was not in the house.
Much of the prosecution case centred on DNA evidence, which the defence argued was inconclusive or contaminated.
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Sep 16 2008:
Meredith Kercher's sister, Stephanie, and parents, John and Arline, prepare to face the three people accused of fatally stabbing and sexually assaulting the British student