Coed said strangled before being stabbed

PERUGIA, Italy, April 19 (UPI) -- An Italian pathologist says the killers in the 2007 death of British student Meredith Kercher tried to strangle her before she was stabbed to death.

Dr. Mauro Bacci, testifying last week behind closed doors at the Perugia, Italy, murder trial of American coed Amanda Knox, 21, and Knox's former Italian boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito, 25, said Kercher was strangled and stabbed in the neck with two different knives, Kercher family lawyer Francesco Maresca told Britain's Sky News.

"The pathologist told the court that in his opinion an attempt had first been made to strangle poor Meredith and then she was stabbed in the throat with two different knives," the attorney reportedly said. "He also told the court there was evidence of non-consensual sexual activity and that a (12-inch) kitchen knife found at Sollecito's house was compatible with the large wound on her throat."

Prosecutors claim Knox, Sollecito and another man killed Kercher after she refused to take part in a drug-fueled sex game, Sky News said. The pair, however, maintain they are innocent.