ROME — Italy's highest court was expected to rule Friday on whether to uphold the murder conviction of American Amanda Knox, a process that could trigger an extradition battle with the United States.
The Italian Court of Cassation was hearing the last arguments from the defense team of Knox's ex-boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito, who is also accused of the 2007 murder of 21-year-old Meredith Kercher, in Perugia, Italy. Kercher, who was Knox's roommate at the time, had been slashed in the throat and sexually assaulted.
The court will decide whether to uphold the guilty verdicts handed down to Knox and Sollecito at their last appeal in 2014, or send their cases back for yet another appeal. Knox faces 28-and-a-half years in prison, Sollecito 25. Both maintain their innocence.
On Wednesday, Knox's defense lawyer, Carlo Dalla Vedova, told the court that the 2014 decision "is not justice, it is a distortion of the facts."
Based on analysis of blood stains in Kercher's room and the rest of the house the two women shared, "there is not one trace of Amanda in the room of the crime," he said.
If the court confirms their guilt, the Italian government would have to request the extradition of 27-year-old Knox, who has already spent four years in jail and now lives in the U.S.
IN-DEPTH
- Final Hurdle? Amanda Knox Case Is Back in Court
- Amanda Knox's Ex: She Gives Me an Alibi
- Knox Defense Turns to Italy's Last-Resort Court
— Chapman Bell
The Associated Press contributed to this report