Meredith suspect DNA 'on knife'

Meredith Kercher was a student in Perugia, Italy

DNA belonging to Amanda Knox, a suspect in the murder of British student Meredith Kercher, has been found on a knife, police in Italy say.

The knife, which also had the victim's DNA on it, was recovered from Miss Knox's boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito.

American student Ms Knox, 20, her Italian boyfriend Mr Sollecito, 24, and bar owner Diya Lumumba, 37, are suspected of killing Miss Kercher.

Miss Kercher, 21, was found with her throat cut in Perugia on 2 November.

Further tests are ongoing on hair found in Miss Kercher's left hand and on Mr Sollecito's trainers.

Police hope the strands of hair will provide a clue about who was with Miss Kercher the night she was murdered.

The BBC's Christian Fraser in Rome said police say they have so far collected plenty of circumstantial evidence to place the suspects in the house at the time of the murder.

Phone records

They found DNA belonging to both Miss Kercher and Miss Knox on a knife they recovered from Mr Sollecito.

Police believe this forensic evidence proves the knife had at some point been in contact with the murdered student.

Meanwhile police are studying the hard drive on Sollecito's computer.

They will be checking to see if he was online at the time of the murder as he has claimed.

Phone records have already shown that the phone at Mr Sollecito's house rang at about midnight that evening, but no-one answered.

Forensic tests are still ongoing on Mr Sollecito's Nike trainers, which police believe match the bloody footprint found on the duvet in Miss Kercher's room.