Appeal date of Knox murder acquittal set

ROME, July 19 (UPI) -- Italy's top court said it will hear the appeal on the acquittal of U.S. student Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito in the death of Merideth Kercher next year.

The Court of Cassation announced Thursday that March 25 would be the start date to hear the prosecutor's appeal to have the acquittals overturned, Italy's ANSA news agency reported.

In the original trial, Knox and Sollecito were found guilty and sentenced to 26 years and 25 years, respectively, in prison for the 2007 death of Kercher, a British exchange student, following what prosecutors alleged was a sex game that went wrong.

Knox and Sollecito were acquitted on appeal in October, with a jury saying there wasn't enough evidence to prove their guilt.

Separately, Rudy Guede, 21, of Ivory Coast, was convicted of Kercher's murder and sentenced to 30 years in prison. His conviction was upheld on appeal but the sentence was reduced to 16 years.