New tests on Kercher knife rejected - News in brief - Evening Standard
       

New tests on Kercher knife rejected

A court in Italy has rejected a plea by defence lawyers for new tests on evidence in the Meredith Kercher murder trial.

American student Amanda Knox and her former boyfriend, Italian Raffaele Sollecito, deny killing Knox's British roommate, Miss Kercher, in 2007 in the university town of Perugia.

Lawyers for the pair sought further tests on evidence, including a knife prosecutors claim could be the murder weapon.

Prosecutors claim Miss Kercher, a Leeds University student from Coulsdon, Surrey, was killed during a sex game and allege Knox stabbed her in the throat.

The defence contends DNA on the knife could be contaminated.

Lawyer Francesco Maresca, who is representing Kercher's family, confirmed the court had ruled there was no need for more tests.

Witness testimony ended last month and the next session for November 20, when prosecutors will begin final arguments, scheduled to last two days.

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