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Meredith Kercher killing: Kercher and Knox had fight over money on night of the British student's death, says Italian court

Italian court that convicted Knox says Kercher's wounds indicate 'multiple aggressors', and that the two roommates fought over money

Tom Payne
Wednesday 30 April 2014 03:24 EDT
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Amanda Knox giving a press conference after landing in the US following her acquittal in 2011
Amanda Knox giving a press conference after landing in the US following her acquittal in 2011 (Reuters)

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Amanda Knox and Meredith Kercher were engaged in an ongoing dispute over money which culminated in a fight on the night of her death, an Italian court has said.

The appellate court in Florence, which in January found Knox guilty of the murder, today issued a 337-page document explaining its decision.

It claimed there was evidence that the two roommates had a bad relationship despite Knox’s claims to the contrary.

And it stated the third person convicted in the murder, Rudi Guede, did not act alone because Kercher’s wounds showed signs of “multiple aggressors”.

These included evidence of two knives at the scene as well as finger imprints on her body, which indicate that Guede was not the sole attacker, according to the report.

The report also drew attention to statements given by Guede under police questioning which, it alleged, indicated that Kercher believed Knox had stolen money from her room.

“It is a matter of fact that at a certain point in the evening events accelerated; the English girl was attacked by Amanda Marie Knox, by Raffaele Sollecito, who was backing up his girlfriend, and by Rudi Hermann Guede, and constrained within her own room,” the document said.

The judges said there was evidence of "two different weapons" on the neck wounds of the victim.

"The court believes the knife which produced the injury on the left side of the victim's neck where the greatest amount of blood flowed and caused the death of Meredith Kercher was held by Amanda Knox," the judges said.

The document ruled out that the murder was attributable to a sex game gone wrong, citing that such a scenario would have been out of Kercher’s character.

And it stressed that the assailants did not have to have the same motive for attacking the British student.

The court’s documents will now be forwarded to the supreme Court of Cassation, which is handling the verdict on Knox’s appeal.

Meredith Kercher died at the age of 21. She was found in a pool of blood in November 2007 the apartment that she and Knox shared in the town of Perugia.

Knox has been in the United states since 2011 when her earlier conviction was overturned.

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