Let us lay our Meredith to rest, parents urge a judge

It is more than three weeks since the 21-year-old student was found in her bedroom with her throat cut in the town of Perugia.

Miss Kercher's body was flown back to Britain two weeks ago but her parents John and Arline have not been allowed to hold a funeral as lawyers for one of the suspects ask for a second post-mortem examination to be carried out.

Today, a judge is due to rule whether another autopsy is needed. Claudia Mateini's decision was originally expected yesterday.

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Last night, the Kerchers' lawyer Francesco Maresca urged the court to make a quick decision out of compassion for the family, who live in Coulsdon, Surrey.

Mr Maresca said: "They are anxious to have a funeral as quickly as possible and they are finding it difficult to cope with this length of time."

He added: "The experts will inform the judge whether a second autopsy is necessary and I hope for the family's sake that decision is negative and comes as quickly as possible."

Mr Kercher said: "I don't know how we will respond if they delay things further, we're hoping that doesn't happen."

Miss Kercher's semi-naked body was found on November 2. Her throat had been cut three times and she had been left to die in "slow agony". Three are in custody in connection with the killing - her American housemate Amanda Knox, 20, her boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito, 23, and 20-year-old Rudy Hermann Guede, who is awaiting extradition from Germany.

A fourth man, bar owner Diya Patrick Lumumba, 38, was released last week.

All four deny sexually assaulting and murdering Miss Kercher.

Lumumba's lawyers asked for the second post-mortem examination to establish the exact time of death as their client has said he was at work at the time.

Sollecito's lawyers also requested further checks to establish if a knife seized at his home was compatible with Miss Kercher's wounds.

Police have said DNA found on the tip of the knife matched Miss Kercher while DNA from Knox had been found near the handle.

It also emerged yesterday that Guede told officials he had consensual sex with Miss Kercher but was in the bathroom when she was killed.

He said he came out, saw the killer fleeing the scene and tried to revive Miss Kercher, but was scared and left.