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November 28, 2009 in Nation/World
Family seeking millions from suspects in Italy
PERUGIA, Italy – A lawyer representing the family of a British college student who was slain in Italy is seeking $37 million in damages from an American and two other defendants accused in the 2007 killing.
Lawyer Francesco Maresca said in court Friday that the family of 21-year-old Meredith Kercher is seeking the compensation from Amanda Knox, of Seattle, co-defendant Raffaele Sollecito and Ivorian Rudy Hermann Guede, who was convicted in a separate trial. They all deny wrongdoing.
Prosecutors have asked the eight-member jury in Perugia, Italy, to give Knox and Sollecito a life sentence. A verdict is expected next week.
Kercher’s body was found in the apartment she shared in the central Italian city of Perugia with Knox on Nov. 2, 2007. Prosecutors believe the Briton was the victim of a drug-fueled sex game.
Knox and Sollecito, who have been jailed since shortly after the slaying, were in court Friday, as well as their families.
After making his closing remarks, Maresca acknowledged to reporters that the three defendants would not be able to pay some $12 million each. He said the amount requested was “symbolic” because human life is invaluable.
Italian law allows plaintiffs to attach requests for civil damages to criminal proceedings.
Defense lawyers will make their closing arguments in the next sessions.
“The lawyers of the civil plaintiff are on the same side as the prosecutor, but with the same problem: they both lack evidence,” said Knox lawyer Carlo Dalla Vedova. “We are serene, and we are ready to explain our positions.”
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Ninch on November 28 at 8:42 a.m.
I keep wondering what the defense lawyers mean every time they state that evidence is lacking. There is plenty of circumstantial evidence (including DNA) as well as the fact that the defendants lied over and over again with great inconsistency… AND too often behaved inappropriately to appear innocent (e.g. reminds me of Charles Manson and his girls.) There really appears to be no other viable suspects or explanations for Kercher's murder.
BTW: It appears that Amanda Knox's family does have financial means to pay part of the civil claim, so it may be much more than symbolic.
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