Kerchers seek £19m compensation

The family of murdered British exchange student Meredith Kercher is seeking £19m in compensation for her death.

Lawyers for the family have applied for the money, which would be split between family members upon a conviction.

Miss Kercher, 21, from London, was found semi-naked with her throat slit in her flat in Perugia, Italy, in 2007.

Suspects Rudy Guede, 22, from Ivory Coast, American Amanda Knox, 21, and Italian Raffaele Sollecito, 24, each deny sexual assault and murder.

The BBC's Duncan Kennedy in Rome said lawyers for the Kercher family had applied for a total of 25m euros (£19.4m) in damages as part of the Italian civil law process. There is also an ongoing criminal legal process.

Fast-track trial

The body of Miss Kercher, from Coulsdon, south London, was discovered in the bedroom of her flat on 1 November last year.

She lived with Miss Knox and others at the apartment on Via Della Pergola in Perugia, central Italy.

Last week, prosecutors in Italy asked for a life sentence for Mr Guede, one of the suspects.

Under Italian law, Mr Guede has taken a special fast-track trial which will allow him some leniency if convicted.

Francesco Maresca, the Kercher family's lawyer, said: "As the prosecution case concluded against Guede, a request was made for 25m euros financial compensation in the event that somebody is found responsible for Meredith's death.

"At the moment it applies only to Rudy, but the figure will be the same if either of the other two suspects are brought to court.

"The request for 25m euros applies to all three collectively, not 25 million from each. So it could be that one of them, or all of them, or none of them have to pay this compensation to the family."

Miss Knox and Mr Sollecito have been in jail since November, while Mr Guede was arrested later in Germany and extradited to Italy in December.