College Student Ordered to Remain in Jail

An Italian court has ruled that American college student Amanda Knox must remain in a Perugia, Italy, jail as a suspect in the murder of her British roommate, the prosecutor in the case, Giuliano Mignini, told ABC News.

Knox, 20, and her former boyfriend, Italian Raffaele Sollecito, were ordered to remain in jail as the investigation continues, pending charges and trial.

Neither Knox nor Sollecito have been formally indicted in the murder of 21-year-old British student Meredith Kercher. They are still considered suspects.

They can appeal today's decision.

Knox and Sollecito were in court for separate hearings this morning but were not present in the courtroom when the decision was announced.

The lawyer for Kercher's family, Francesco Maresca, said the family is satisfied with the decision.

During the earlier hearing, Knox, dressed in jeans and a light-colored top, told the judge that she was at Sollecito's house on the night of the murder. She also confirmed that she wrote a memorial stating that she cannot remember what happened the night her roommate was killed in the home the two students shared, according to a source who was inside the courtroom and witnessed the proceedings.

"I am innocent," she reportedly told the judge today while crying.

No journalists were permitted inside the courtroom.

In the memorial, written while in police custody after the killing, Knox claimed she cannot remember which of her memories are dreams and which are reality.

"But the truth is, I'm unsure about the truth," Knox wrote in the memorial.

Knox, a student at the University of Washington and Sollecito were picked up Nov. 6 and a judge confirmed the arrests a few days later, saying there was enough evidence against the two students to hold them while the investigation continued. Lawyers appealed the decision and both suspects deny wrongdoing.

Three judges presided over today's hearing, and in front of them were a prosecutor, an interpreter and Knox's lawyers, Luciano Ghirga and Dalla Vedova.

Knox and Sollecito arrived for their hearings in separate vans and did not see one another. Knox's statement reportedly lasted only about one minute.


Knox has given conflicting statements since the killing, first saying she was not home the night of the slaying and later telling prosecutors she was in the apartment and had to cover her ears to drown out Kercher's screams, though that statement is now legally inadmissable because it was made without a lawyer present.

According to prosecutors, a drop of Knox's blood found on a bathroom faucet places her at the apartment on the night of the murder or the morning after, and DNA from Knox and Kercher was found on a knife that investigators believe may have been the murder weapon.


Lawyers maintain there is not enough evidence linking the knife to Kercher's wounds nor the shoes to the footprint.

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