Raffaele Sollecito talks with his stepmother Mara Papagni prior to the start of the final hearing before the third court verdict for the murder of British student Meredith Kercher, in Florence, Italy, Thursday, Jan. 30, 2014. The first two trials produced flip-flop verdicts of guilty then innocent for Kercher former roommate, American student Amanda Knox, who is not attending the hearing, and her former Italian boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito, and the case has produced harshly clashing versions of events. A Florence appeals panel designated by Italy's supreme court to address issues it raised about the acquittal is set to deliberate Thursday, with a verdict expected later in the day. (AP Photo/Lapresse) ITALY OUT
January 30, 2014 - 1:07 AM
FLORENCE, Italy - U.S. student Amanda Knox's defence has the final word before a Florence appeals court decides whether she is guilty or not for the 2007 murder of her British roommate.
Knox's lawyer Carlo Dalla Vedova said in rebuttals Thursday that he is "serene" about the verdict because he believes the only conclusion from the case files is "the innocence of Amanda Knox."
Knox is awaiting the verdict in her third trial half a world away in Seattle, where she returned after being acquitted in Meredith Kercher's brutal murder in 2011. Knox's former Italian boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito was in court, accompanied by his father and other relatives.
The Florence panel will begin deliberations at the close of the Knox defence rebuttals. A verdict is expected later Thursday.
News from © The Associated Press, 2014