Express & Star

Italy frees man convicted of 2007 murder of British student Meredith Kercher

Rudy Guede was freed after serving most of his 16-year prison sentence.

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Meredith Kercher

The only person convicted in the 2007 murder of British student Meredith Kercher has been freed after serving most of his 16-year prison sentence.

Italian news agencies LaPresse and ANSA quoted lawyer Fabrizio Ballarini as saying that Rudy Guede’s release, planned for January 4, had been moved up a few weeks by a judge, and he was freed on Tuesday.

Guede had already been granted permission to leave prison during the day to work while he served his sentence for the murder of 21-year-old Ms Kercher.

Italy Student Slain
Rudy Guede, left, is escorted by an unidentified person as he leaves prison on a temporary release (Gregorio Borgia/AP)

The case in the university city of Perugia gained international notoriety after Ms Kercher’s American roommate, Amanda Knox, and Knox’s then-boyfriend were placed under suspicion. Both were initially convicted, but Italy’s highest court threw out the convictions in 2015 after a series of flip-flop decisions.

Guede was originally convicted in a fast-track trial procedure. He has denied killing Ms Kercher.

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