Meredith was our daughter, never a victim

Published on Saturday 5 December 2009 18:53

THE family of the murdered British student, Meredith Kercher, yesterday welcomed the convictions of her killers, but refused to celebrate.

&#149 Verdict: Amanda Knox at the court in Perugia before the verdict. The trial lasted eight months and drew worldwide media attention.

The Kerchers had travelled to Italy to see American Amanda Knox and her former Italian boyfriend Rafaelle Sollecito sentenced for killing the 21-year-old exchange student in Perugia in 2007.

They said they were "pleased" with the verdicts but wanted to remember Meredith, nicknamed "Mez", the way they knew her rather than as the victim of a sexually motivated murder.

Knox and former lover Sollecito were jailed for 26 and 25 years respectively late on Friday after a largely televised trial that last nearly a year and mesmerised viewers in Italy, Britain and America. They both plan to appeal against their guilty verdicts.

Speaking at a press conference in Perugia, one of the victim's brothers, Lyle Kercher, said: "Ultimately, we are pleased with the decision, pleased that we've got a decision, but it's not a time for celebration."

Another brother, John, explained: "Everyone in this room associates Meredith with a tragic event but we would prefer not to remember her in that way. We would like to concentrate on the 21 years that we had with her."

Kercher, a Leeds University student from Surrey, was described in court as pleasant and hard working, and had come to Perugia, a hilltop town in Umbria, intent on improving her knowledge of Italian.

She died after Knox, with whom she shared a flat, cut her throat with a 6in knife while Sollecito held her down.

Prosecutors said Kercher had refused to take part in a sex game involving Sollecito and another man, small-time drug dealer Rudy Guede, 22, who was jailed for murder and sexual violence in October 2008 for 30 years.

Knox, they said, let her hatred of Kercher, probably fuelled by drink and drugs, boil over into murderous rage.

Kercher's mother Arline said she accepted the prosecution's version of events. She said: "If the evidence has been presented then, yes, you have to agree with that verdict. It's difficult to say but at the end of the day you have to go on the evidence because there's nothing else."

The Kerchers were awarded ||EURO||4.4 million compensation, but Lyle said the figure was "symbolic" and no amount could make up for their loss.

He said: "It's not the case that this has ever been about us seeking money, which is why we've been reluctant to do much media stuff throughout. That money will never really bring anything or change anything in that respect."

The Kercher family had kept largely silent throughout the long court proceedings. Kercher's father, John Snr, chose not to break his silence during the news conference.

News that Knox and Sollecito planned to appeal against the guilty verdicts did not come as a surprise, the Kercher family said. Meredith's sister Stephanie said: "It just feels like our lives have been on hold really. You can't continue your life as normal, you just have to take it one step at a time."

Knox's parents, Curt Knox and Edda Mellas, from Seattle, issued a statement insisting that their daughter was innocent and that they would continue to fight for her release.

"We are extremely disappointed in the verdict rendered... against our daughter," they said. "While we always knew this was a possibility, we find it difficult to accept this verdict when we know that she is innocent, and that the prosecution has failed to explain why there is no evidence of Amanda in the room where Meredith was so horribly and tragically murdered."

Knox's parents criticised the media for the way their daughter – dubbed "Foxy Knoxy" in the tabloid press – had been portrayed, alleging this swayed the judges and jurors. They said: "It appears clear to us that the attacks on Amanda's character in much of the media and by the prosecution had a significant impact on the judges and jurors and apparently overshadowed the lack of evidence in the case against her."

As well as compensation to the Kerchers, Knox was told she must also pay ||EURO||40,000 to Patrick Lumumba for defaming the barman when she falsely accused him of the murder.

Prosecutors said Knox, Sollecito and Guede panicked after committing the murder and clumsily tried to make it look like part of a burglary gone wrong – breaking a window in the house to make it appear like a forced entry.