Witness says Knox guilty of 'horrible murder' of Kercher
American Amanda Knox was confirmed as the killer of British student Meredith Kercher today by the very witness she hoped would clear her.
Rudy Guede, the first person to be convicted of Miss Kercher's killing in Perugia, Italy, had been called to give evidence in an appeal by Knox and her former boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito against their convictions.
But he told the hearing he thinks the couple were the killers, confirming his previous accusations.
Knox said she was "shocked and anguished" at the evidence. In a spontaneous statement seconds after Guede left the court, she stood up and said "he knows we weren't there" and that she doesn't know what happened the night of the murder.
Guede was convicted of the 2007 murder of Miss Kercher, from Coulsdon, Surrey, in a fast-track trial held separately from the trial of Knox and Sollecito .
He denies wrongdoing but has admitted being at the crime scene.
Prosecutors claimed in Knox's trial that Guede, Knox and Sollecito killed Miss Kercher in what had begun as a sexual game.
In the witness box today, Guede confirmed the contents of a letter he wrote to his lawyers last year, which ends with a direct accusation to Knox and Sollecito. In the March 2010 letter, which was read out loud in court, Guede wrote that he had nothing to do with the "horrible murder of the splendid and wonderful Meredith Kercher by Knox and Sollecito".
"This is a thought I've always had in my mind," Guede told the court.
"It's not up to me to decide who killed Meredith Kercher," he added. "I've always said who was there that damned night in that house."
Guede is serving a 16-year-prison sentence for the murder. He was escorted in court by police in handcuffs.
Knox was sentenced to 26 years in prison, Sollectio to 25.
"Raffaele Sollecito, Guede and I have only been in the same place in a court," Knox said. "I'm shocked and anguished by these statements."
"I don't know what happened that night," Knox added, saying she wished she could have said that to Guede's face. She was only allowed to speak after Guede was escorted out.
Guede was called by the prosecution to counter evidence by a fellow inmate and convicted child killer who claimed Guede told him that Knox and Sollecito had nothing to do with the killing.
On the stand, Guede denied talking to Mario Alessi about the case. The letter that was read in court had been written by Guede in order to deny Alessi's claims.
Like Knox and Sollecito, Guede has denied killing Miss Kercher, but unlike them, he has admitted being at the crime scene the night of the murder.
