Kercher pair hearing is adjourned

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A court hearing for the couple accused of killing 21-year-old British student Meredith Kercher has been adjourned.

American Amanda Knox and Italian Raffaele Sollecito appeared together in a courtroom in Italy on Friday for the first time since they were jailed.

The pair and another man, Ivory Coast citizen Rudy Guede, deny charges of sexual assault and murder.

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

Her body was semi-naked and her throat had been cut.

The second pre-trial hearing was adjourned because the court could not hear the evidence of an expert crime scene police officer, said the Kercher family lawyer, Francesco Maresca.

He said the hearings would resume next Saturday.

Mr Maresca added that Judge Paolo Micheli is likely to make the decision whether Knox and Sollecito will stand trial "some time between 11 and 19 October."

Fast-track trial

A fast-track trial for Mr Guede, 21, has opened behind closed doors and his lawyer, Valter Biscotti, said two witnesses testified to his good character.

This trial will also continue next Saturday, with a verdict expected by the end of October.

Miss Kercher lived with Miss Knox and others on Via Della Pergola in Perugia.

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.