Last defense for Knox ex-boyfriend in Italy trial

[November 30, 2009]  PERUGIA, Italy (AP) -- One of Italy's top criminal defense lawyers is making final arguments for the ex-boyfriend of American student Amanda Knox in the trial for the 2007 murder of a British student in Perugia.

Giulia Bongiorno told the court Monday that her Italian client, Raffaele Sollecito, wound up being wrongly accused of murder because of a bloody footprint at the scene.

Bongiorno won fame for successfully defending former Premier Giulio Andreotti against charges of aiding the Sicilian Mafia years ago.

Sollecito and Knox are accused of murdering Meredith Kercher in her bedroom in the rented house she shared with the Knox. They deny wrongdoing.

One man has already been convicted of Kercher's murder.

The court says a verdict is expected later this week.

[Associated Press]

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