UW student breaks down during questioning
PERUGIA, Italy (AP) - The jailed American suspect in the slaying of a British student was questioned by prosecutors for six hours Monday and insisted she was not involved, defense lawyers said.
Amanda Knox "for six hours gave her version of the facts, confirming what she has already said," defense lawyer Giancarlo Costa told reporters outside of Perugia prison, where the university student from Seattle has been held since Nov. 6.
Asked by a reporter if Knox, 20, had reiterated her stand that she wasn't in the house the night her roommate, Meredith Kercher, was slain, another defense lawyer, Luciano Ghirga, replied, "I think so."
Kercher's body, half-naked on the floor of her bedroom and in a pool of blood under bedcovers, was discovered on Nov. 2. An autopsy showed that the 21-year-old woman, who was studying at Perugia University, had been stabbed in the neck and sexually assaulted.
Lawyers declined to say specifically what Knox said in her questioning Monday, but they indicated she continued to deny any wrongdoing.
When reporters asked if Knox had declared herself innocent, Ghirga replied, "Yes, certainly."
Knox's boyfriend at the time of the slaying, Raffaele Sollecito, 23, is also jailed as a suspect, as is Rudy Hermann Guede, 20, an Ivory Coast national. Guede was recently returned to Italy after being arrested in Germany. His fingerprint was found in bloodstains on Kercher's pillow, and DNA testing found that he had sex with Kercher the night of her slaying.
Another suspect, Congolese pub owner Diya "Patrick" Lumumba, was released from jail but has not been formally cleared. Knox at one point told investigators that Lumumba was the killer.
All suspects deny any wrongdoing.
A judge has ruled that both Knox and Sollecito can be held in jail for as long as a year while the probe continues.
Knox's DNA has been found on the handle of a knife that prosecutors say might have been used in the slaying, while Kercher's DNA has been found on the blade.
Investigators said that Knox started crying when asked why she had accused Lumumba of the slaying. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not allowed to give details of the probe while it is still under way.
Following a break after the tears, Knox declined to answer any more questions, the investigators said.
Amanda Knox "for six hours gave her version of the facts, confirming what she has already said," defense lawyer Giancarlo Costa told reporters outside of Perugia prison, where the university student from Seattle has been held since Nov. 6.
Asked by a reporter if Knox, 20, had reiterated her stand that she wasn't in the house the night her roommate, Meredith Kercher, was slain, another defense lawyer, Luciano Ghirga, replied, "I think so."
Kercher's body, half-naked on the floor of her bedroom and in a pool of blood under bedcovers, was discovered on Nov. 2. An autopsy showed that the 21-year-old woman, who was studying at Perugia University, had been stabbed in the neck and sexually assaulted.
Lawyers declined to say specifically what Knox said in her questioning Monday, but they indicated she continued to deny any wrongdoing.
When reporters asked if Knox had declared herself innocent, Ghirga replied, "Yes, certainly."
Knox's boyfriend at the time of the slaying, Raffaele Sollecito, 23, is also jailed as a suspect, as is Rudy Hermann Guede, 20, an Ivory Coast national. Guede was recently returned to Italy after being arrested in Germany. His fingerprint was found in bloodstains on Kercher's pillow, and DNA testing found that he had sex with Kercher the night of her slaying.
Another suspect, Congolese pub owner Diya "Patrick" Lumumba, was released from jail but has not been formally cleared. Knox at one point told investigators that Lumumba was the killer.
All suspects deny any wrongdoing.
A judge has ruled that both Knox and Sollecito can be held in jail for as long as a year while the probe continues.
Knox's DNA has been found on the handle of a knife that prosecutors say might have been used in the slaying, while Kercher's DNA has been found on the blade.
Investigators said that Knox started crying when asked why she had accused Lumumba of the slaying. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not allowed to give details of the probe while it is still under way.
Following a break after the tears, Knox declined to answer any more questions, the investigators said.
