Meredith Kercher: Italy ruling on Knox and Sollecito convictions

  

 Italy's top court is to decide whether to uphold the convictions of American Amanda Knox and Italian Raffaele Sollecito for the 2007 murder of British student Meredith Kercher.

   

The former lovers were found guilty for the second time last year.
The court can confirm the conviction or overturn it - either ordering another trial or effectively dropping it.
Knox and Sollecito have maintained their innocence throughout and have already served four years in prison.
A definitive conviction at the Court of Cassation would trigger complicated attempts to extradite Knox, who lives in Seattle in the US.
Sollecito, from Bari, southern Italy, has remained in the country, and attended the hearing with his new girlfriend on Wednesday.

'Remember Meredith'

Speaking before the verdict, the Kercher family's lawyer, Francesco Maresca, said they hoped it would bring an end to the judicial process.
"It's a case that has gone on for so many years now," he said.
"They hope that this will be the final stage of this judicial process and they will at last... be able to remember Meredith outside of the court room [process]."