Kercher prosecutors seek murder charges against three suspects
Italian prosecutors have requested formal murder charges against three suspects in the killing of British woman Meredith Kercher.
Prosecutors in Perugia want 21-year-old American Amanda Knox, her former Italian boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito, and Ivory Coast citizen Rudy Hermann Guede to be tried in connection with the death of Ms Kercher.
Ms Kercher, a 21-year-old student from Leeds University, was found dead in November in a pool of blood in the house she shared with Knox in the university town of Perugia, in central Italy.
All three suspects have denied any wrongdoing.
Knox's lawyer, Luciano Ghirga, said the request had been expected and did not offer further comment.
A judge will now have to decide whether to grant the prosecutor’s request and order the three to stand trial. A date for the hearing has not been set.
Knox and Sollecito have been in prison since November. Guede was arrested in Germany in November and extradited to Italy the following month.
Prosecutors say the three suspects strangled and stabbed Kercher, according to a court document that notified defence lawyers last month that the investigation was closed.
The document said Guede engaged in sexual violence with Kercher, with the help of Knox and Sollecito.
