Meredith's father says she found Foxy Knoxy flatmate 'eccentric'

Murdered student Meredith Kercher found the girl suspected of killing her "eccentric" and "sure of herself", according to her father.

John Kercher also said his daughter was surprised that her flatmate Amanda Knox had been entertaining men "within a week of arriving" in Italy.

He said he last spoke to Meredith on the phone ten days ago, hours before she was knifed to death.

His comments were made to Perugia prosecutor Giuliano Mignini who is investigating Meredith's death. Last night, the prosecutor told The Mail on Sunday: "Mr Kercher told me that he spoke to his daughter every day and she was happy and had no problems."

Mr Kercher, from Coulsdon, Surrey, told Mr Mignini: "I remember Meredith telling me that Amanda was eccentric and very sure of herself. She also told me how surprised she was that Amanda was already entertaining men within a week of moving in.

"We last spoke on November 1. We only spent a couple of minutes on the phone. She would always tell me about her day, what she had done and about her friends."

Meanwhile, it was revealed Miss Knox may be keeping a prison diary. Saulo Scarabattoli, a prison chaplain, said he thought Knox was writing a diary in her cell.

He said: "In the few moments I spent with her, it seemed she had a lot in her heart to think about, and I think she may be writing it down," he said.

The body of Miss Kercher, from Coulsdon in Surrey, arrived back at Heathrow this afternoon.

On Monday, tests are due to begin in Rome on forensic material found in the room where Miss Kercher was killed.

Defence lawyers representing Congolese-born suspect Patrick Lumumba had made a last-minute demand to have the 21-year-old's body re-examined after querying the time of her death.

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Lumumba, 37, was arrested last week for the brutal killing in Perugia, 100 miles from Rome, along with Amanda Knox, known as "Foxy Knoxy", 20, and her boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito, 23. The murder weapon is believed to be a knife belonging to Sollecito.

Last night, Knox's mother Edda broke her silence after visiting her daughter in Capanne prison, where she is being held with Sollecito and Lumumba.

She told Italian TV news: "I saw my daughter for an hour and I feel happier for having seen her. Amanda told me she was very upset by the death of her friend but she was confident that she would be released soon."