Former lovers cleared of Kercher murder

An Italian court has overturned the conviction of Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito for the murder of Leeds University student Meredith Kercher.

The decision by the supreme Court of Cassation is the final ruling in the case, ending the long legal battle waged by Ms Knox and her ex-boyfriend. Ms Kercher, a 21-year-old from Coulsdon, Surrey, was sexually assaulted and stabbed to death in her bedroom in 2007 while studying in Perugia, Italy.

Her flatmate Ms Knox, a student from Seattle in the US, and Mr Sollecito spent four years in jail for the murder but were acquitted on appeal in 2011.

Ms Knox returned to the US before an appeal court threw out the acquittal and reinstated her and Mr Sollecito's guilty verdicts last year.

But Italy's highest court today overturned last year's convictions and declined to order another trial.

Ms Knox, who is now 27, awaited for the verdict in her hometown of Seattle. Her Italian former boyfriend Mr Sollecito, 30, had his travel documents seized while the court proceedings were ongoing.

The judges will release the reasons for their decision within 90 days after concluding that a conviction could not be supported by the evidence.

Kercher family lawyer Francesco Maresca said earlier this week: "The interest of the family is to arrive to the end of this trial. They want to be able to remember Meredith outside of the court room."

Ms Knox said last year she would become a "fugitive" if convicted and would have to be taken back "kicking and screaming" to Italy.

Last month, she announced her engagement to 27-year-old musician and school friend Colin Sutherland, who wrote to her while she was in jail.

Following the court's decision, Ms Knox's lawyer Carlo Dalla Vedova said: "Finished! It couldn't be better than this,"

Prosecutors claimed that Ms Kercher, a Leeds University Student, was the victim of a drug-fuelled sex game gone wrong.

But Ms Knox and Mr Sollecito consistently protested their innocence and claimed they were not in the apartment the night she died.

Rudy Guede, a drug dealer, is serving a 16-year sentence over the deat