Everyone In Court Except The Two Accused
Updated: 2:36am UK, Friday 31 January 2014
By Nick Pisa, Sky News Reporter
At just before 10pm a bell sounded to mark the return into court of Judge Alessandro Nencini after almost 12 hours of deliberation.
As a hush descended in the packed courtroom there were two notable absences in the room - Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito, the accused.
Sollecito had made a brief appearance earlier in the day, dressed in a military style long trenchcoat and sunglasses - even though it was pouring with rain outside.
Accompanied by his father he told the media: "I'm here out of respect for the system. Whoever said I wouldn't turn up was just trying to badmouth me."
But as soon as the judge retired, Sollecito raced away from the court in a taxi vowing to "return for the verdict".
It was no surprise when he failed to keep his promise.
Knox on the other hand had chosen to stay back home in Seattle, letting her lawyers do the talking - although she had emailed the court a lengthy five page email stressing her innocence and adding she was not "a monster".
It failed to cut any ice with the judge - who actually took a dim view to the fact that she had written to the court instead of actually showing up in person to make her statement.
Seasoned court watchers who have been following the case since the first trial started in 2008 had no doubt that the pair would be convicted and the original sentences upheld.
The real question was just how long the sentences would be for each of them and in the end Sollecito's remained at the original 25 years he had been given in 2009, while Knox's was increased by two and a half years.
Prosecutor Alessandro Cirini had requested an extra four on top of the 26 years she had been sentenced to so was happy that they got more than half of what they had asked for.
Knox quickly released a statement after the verdict insisting it was "not a consolation" for the Kercher family and that she was "frightened and saddened" by the result.
Sollecito on the other hand was said to have been left "speechless" as he watched the verdict from his home more than 300 miles away in Bisceglie near Bari in southern Italy.
Italian newspaper websites and bulletins were dominated by the news as the verdict was broadcast live both online and on TV cameras scanning the faces of Meredith's brother Lyle and sister Stephanie for reaction.
As usual, they remained calm and collected, this was the third time they had travelled to an Italian court to hear a verdict in a murder case for their sister - a journey which Meredith's mother Arline had been unable to make.
Earlier she had simply summed it up saying: ''We just want justice for Meredith. Not a day goes by that we don't think of her.''
:: Watch Sky News live on television, on Sky channel 501, Virgin Media channel 602, Freeview channel 82 and Freesat channel 202.
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