Kercher murder jury chosen

| Mon, 12/22/2008 - 10:16

Three women and three men have been chosen as jury members for the upcoming trial of two suspects in the murder of British University student Meredith Kercher.

The six jury members, all between the ages of 35 and 57, were chosen from an initial draw of 50 Perugia residents.

The trial of Kercher's 20-year-old American flatmate, Amanda Knox, and her Italian boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito, 24, will begin on January 16. Both suspects deny charges.

The 21-year-old British exchange student was found semi-naked and with her throat slashed on November 2 last year in the house she shared with Knox and two other Italian women.

Last month a third defendant, 21-year-old Ivory Coast national Rudy Guede, was found guilty and sentenced to 30 years for sexually assaulting and murdering Kercher after opting for a fast-track trial, which is held without a jury.

The prosecution claims Kercher was killed when all three suspects tried to force her to participate in ''a perverse group sex game''.

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