Ex-suspect in killing gets $10K

PERUGIA, Italy, March 16 (UPI) -- An appeals court Monday awarded a former suspect in Italy's notorious coed killing case $10,350 in damages for his unjust imprisonment.

But the money awarded by the Perugia appellate court was considerably less than the $667,350 bar owner Patrick Lumumba had sought, ANSA reported.

Lumumba's attorney, Carlo Pacelli, called it a ''miserable'' sum in a statement announcing it will be appealed to the Italian Supreme Court.

"There has been no recognition of damage to his property or health and the damage to his image has not been adequately valued," Pacelli said in the statement.

Lumumba, 38, was arrested Nov. 6, 2007, in the sex-games slaying of British exchange student Meredith Kercher based on testimony from Amanda Knox, 21, of Seattle, another suspect in the case.

He spent 14 days in jail before his alibi was confirmed. However, he says he is now unemployed after closing his pub.

Lumumba, who is suing Knox for defamation, also claims to have suffered psychological damage as a result of his arrest, ANSA reported.

Knox is on trial for Kercher's murder, along with her 24-year-old Italian boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito.

A third defendant, 21-year-old Ivory Coast national Rudy Guede, was found guilty last October and sentenced to 30 years in prison.