Ex-suspect in student death seeks damages

PERUGIA, Italy, March 6 (UPI) -- A one-time suspect in the killing of an English exchange student in Italy is seeking damages from the government and the U.S. student charged with the crime.

Diya "Patrick" Lamumba, a Congolese immigrant, was able to prove an alibi for the night that Meredith Kercher was killed. He filed a claim for damages, saying that his arrest and the two weeks he spent in jail cost him his business, a pub in Perugia, and harmed him psychologically, The Telegraph reported.

Lamumba is seeking 516,000 euros ($653,000) from the state and an undisclosed amount from Amanda Knox. Kercher's family has also sued Knox for 20 million pounds ($28 million).

An appeals court is expected to make a decision this month on Lamumba's claim.

Knox and her former boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito, are on trial in Perugia on charges of killing Kercher. Kercher, a student at the University of Leeds, and Knox, who is from Seattle, shared a house with two Italian women, and prosecutors say Kercher was killed during a sex game gone wrong.

Lamumba became a suspect after police questioned Knox about Kercher's acquaintances, witnesses said in court. Knox worked part-time as a waitress in his pub.