An Italian appeals court Tuesday smacked down an attempt for a new trial or acquittal for the man convicted of the 2007 murder of British university student Meredith Kercher.
Rudy Hermann Guede is serving a 16-year sentence for killing Kercher, whose body was found stabbed in her bedroom in a Perugia house she shared with American student Amanda Knox.
Knox and her ex-Italian boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito, were ultimately exonerated of the murder by Italy’s top criminal tribunal after multiple flip-flopping verdicts.
Guede, who has vehemently denied killing Kercher, was in court Tuesday to hear the decision.
When the Cassation court previously upheld Guede’s 2010 conviction, it ruled he didn’t act alone — but didn’t name any accomplices.
His attorneys have variously argued that conclusion conflicts with Knox and Sollecito’s acquittals.
Revision of final verdicts is extremely rare in the Italian court system.
The Florence court didn’t explain why it rejected the Ivorian man’s bids.
Defense attorney Tommaso Pietrocarlo said his team will consider appealing.
Guede was originally sentenced to 30 years in prison, but that was reduced on a prior appeal to 16 years behind bars.
Knox, who has returned to her native Seattle, continues to proclaim her innocence, as does Sollecito.
They were both officially acquitted of the murder in 2015.
With Post Wires