6:50pm UK, Thursday December 03, 2009

Nick Pisa,
in Perugia

Suspect Amanda Knox has dramatically pleaded her innocence in the Meredith Kercher murder trial as a jury prepares to decide her fate.

Speaking in a trembling voice and in Italian, Knox said she feared ”having the mask of a killer forced onto my skin”.

She said she was “confident my conscience is clean” and also thanked the prosecution for the job they were doing.

“I want to thank the accusers because they are only trying to do their job even if they don’t understand,” she told the court in Perugia.

“They are only trying to bring justice to someone whose life has been taken from this world.

Amanda Knox in court: ‘My conscience is clear,’ she told the judge and jury

“I am vulnerable in front of you and decisions are being made about me.

“People have been asking me how I stay so calm. I am not calm.

“These last few days I have written and I was worried that I was not going to be myself and that I am being described as someone who I am not.

“I feel sad, confused and frustrated. I could face years in prison and this makes me unhappy.

“I could be pulling out my hair, taking apart my cell but I don’t do these things. I just take a breath and try and be positive in moments like this.”

Knox, who spoke from notes, ended by telling the judge and jury: “Now it’s your turn and I thank you.”

Earlier Maria del Grosso, defending Knox, accused prosecutors of moralising instead of arguing for justice.

“This theory of sexual violence demands strong evidence, and what does the prosecutor bring?” he asked.

“That Amanda murdered because Meredith didn’t like the fact she did not flush the toilet and that Amanda was an adulteress.

“Amanda has been described as punctual, a good student, extrovert, supportive, someone who enjoyed music and sport, yoga and many other interests.

“She has been described as happy go lucky and always smiling – and that is just from the prosecution witnesses.

“We even heard from Meredith’s sister Stephanie who said that Meredith had been joking to her how Amanda was like her because she sang in a loud voice.

“I have spent a lot of time with Amanda and she is a sweet girl – she has not changed despite the investigation into her inner sphere, she is genuine and that is why you can only reach the decision to clear her.”

Knox, 21, and Sollecito, 25, are jointly charged with the murder and sexual assault of 21-year-old Meredith.

Prosecutors have called for both to be given life sentences.

Meredith, from Coulsdon, Surrey, was found semi-naked with her throat cut in the bedroom of her house in Italy.

She was in Italy as part of her European Studies degree with Leeds University and had only been in Perugia for two months before she was killed in November 2007.

Live Murder Trial: Amanda Knox