PERUGIA, Italy, Dec. 3 (UPI) -- The Italian student charged with killing a young British woman in Perugia in 2007 denied Thursday that he was present when Meredith Kercher died.
Raffaele Sollecito, 25, an engineering student from Bari, Italy, denied any role in the killing, CNN reported.
Sollecito and his former girlfriend, Amanda Knox, 22, of Seattle, are charged with the murder of Kercher during a drug-fueled sex game at the house Knox and Kercher shared. Kercher, 21, a University of Leeds student from a London suburb, and Knox were studying in Perugia.
"I am not a violent person," Sollecito said. "I've not killed Meredith. I was not at the scene of the crime. Every day I hope that the guilty one confesses. I ask you to give me back my life."
Attorneys completed final arguments Thursday with the jury scheduled to get the case Friday morning. A verdict was seen as possible by Friday night, the Italian news agency ANSA said. The prosecution is seeking life in prison for Knox.
Rudy Guede, 30, an immigrant from the Ivory Coast, has already been convicted and sentenced to 30 years. Knox and Sollecito face life sentences if they are found guilty.
Knox was described by the prosecution as "wound up like a spring" because of Kercher's complaints and "unleashed" her anger "in a drug-filled rage."
Knox was fed up with Kercher moaning about her bringing boys into the house and having to clean up after her, prosecutor Giuliano Mignini said in his final arguments.
Kercher was found dead in her room with a knife wound to the throat on Nov. 2, 2007.
