Reject release of suspects in coed's death

PERUGIA, Italy, April 2 (UPI) -- An Italian judge has refused to release three suspects being held in the death of British exchange student Meredith Kercher last November.

Attorneys for the three charge the evidence in the case is questionable because Kercher's bedroom in Perugia was "contaminated" during the initial police search, The Times of London reported Wednesday.

Graphic images of Kercher's bloodied corpse were shown on Italian television in news bulletins Tuesday night upsetting relatives of the slain girl, the newspaper says.

Complete footage of the police search was broadcast by Telenorba 7, a private network based in Bari, the hometown of suspect Raffaele Sollecito.

Telenorba viewers saw forensic scientists wearing protective clothing pulling back the duvet on Kercher's bed to reveal her half-naked body and slashed throat.

Besides Sollecito, Italian authorities are holding U.S. student Amanda Knox and Rudy Hermann Guede, an Ivory Coast immigrant, in the slaying.

The three can be detained for as long as a year before charges are brought.