PERUGIA, Italy - While the trial took almost a year, a jury found former University of Washington student Amanda Knox and her Italian former boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito guilty of the stabbing murder of British exchange student Meredith Kercher.
Knox was sentenced to 26 years in prison, Sollecito was sentenced to 25 years.
The eight members of the jury, including two judges, reached their decision after deliberating for about nine hours in the courtroom Friday. In Italy, a unanimous verdict is not required, only a majority.
Knox sobbed as guards led her out of the courtroom. Sollecito's stepmother reportedly screamed at the court when the verdicts were read. Knox's parents appeared stunned and devastated by the verdict and left the courtoom crying and holding hands.
"It's absolutely unbelievable," said Cassandra Knox, Amanda's stepmother. "We will fight on. That's all we can do."
Hours after the verdict was read, Knox's father, Curt, called it a travesty and said the jury didn't have the courage to do the right thing. He said they let down their own community and the justice system. He is vowing to fight on to free her through appeal.
Curt says the family hopes to visit Amanda in prison on Saturday but, if not, he will see her on their regular visit.
Knox, who has spent the last two years in an Italian jail cell, was also convicted of a series of additional charges including sexual assault, conspiracy, faking a burglary and slandering a man she falsely implicated in the crime. Knox and Sollecito were convicted on all charges except theft and together must pay 5 million euros, approximately $7,427,000 U.S., to Kercher's family.
Prosecutors sought a life sentence for both, including nine months of daytime solitary confinement for Knox and two months for Sollecito. Knox's defense lawyers say the fact that she was not sentenced for life is a good indication for an appeal. Attorneys say both will appeal.
The Knox/Mellas family released a statement following the verdict.
"We are extremely disappointed in the verdict rendered today against our daughter," read part of the statement. "While we always knew this was a possibility, we find it difficult to accept this verdict when we know that she is innocent, and that the prosecution has failed to explain why there is no evidence of Amanda in the room where Meredith was so horribly and tragically murdered."
Meredith Kercher's family said Saturday they were pleased with the murder conviction but said there was no sense of celebration.
"Ultimately we are pleased with the decision, pleased that we've got a decision, but it's not a time for celebration," Lyle Kercher, the victim's brother, said.
Kercher's sister, Stephanie, said the verdict "does bring a a little bit of justice, for us and for her."
"Life will never be the same without Mez," she said.
Knox and Sollecito, were charged with murder and sexual violence in the November 2007 knifing death of Meredith Kercher. Knox and Kercher, a British exchange student, were roommates in Perugia, a university town about 115 miles (185 kilometers) north of Rome. Knox and Sollecito were arrested shortly after the slaying.
A third suspect, Rudy Guede, was found guilty in a separate trial and is appealing.
Prosecutors say Kercher died during a twisted sex game in which Knox taunted Kercher while Sollecito and Guede sexually assaulted her.
The prosecution says a knife, found in Sollecito's house, was the murder weapon and had Knox's DNA on the handle and Kercher's on the blade, among other pieces of evidence.
The defense has claimed the knife doesn't match Kercher's wounds or an imprint of a knife left on a bedsheet. They also claimed the DNA sample is too small to be conclusive.
The defense has argued that Guede, who was convicted in a separate fast-track trial, was the sole killer. The defense has said there is no evidence tying the three suspects together or proving they planned Kercher's murder.
Knox has given contradicting versions, saying at one point that she was home the night of the murder and had heard Kercher's screams and accusing a Congolese man of the killing. The man, Patrick Diya Lumumba, owns a pub in Perugia where Knox worked. He was jailed briefly but was later cleared and is seeking defamation damages from Knox.
Knox said police pressure led her to initially accuse an innocent man.
Prosecutors say Knox and Sollecito broke a window in a bedroom to stage a burglary and sidetrack the investigation.
During Thursday's final arguments, Knox took the stand for a second time, telling jurors in her Italian murder trial she is not an "assassin" who killed her former roommate. Knox previously testified in June.
Standing up, her voice breaking as she fought back tears, the 22-year-old Seattle student told the court that she feels "vulnerable" and fears losing herself after two years in jail.
"I have written on a piece of paper ... that I was afraid of losing myself," she said, speaking Italian. "I am scared of being branded what I am not," she said. "I am scared of having the mask of an assassin forced onto me."
Sollecito, also addressing the court Thursday, insisted that no motive had emerged to explain his alleged role in the slaying. He disputed the prosecution's view that he was submissive toward Amanda and had been manipulated by her.
"Not having found a motive to explain why I would kill, they said I was a sort of dog on a leash," he said. "If Amanda had asked me to do something I didn't agree with, I would have said no. Let alone if she had asked me to do something as terrible as killing a girl."
Knox and Sollecito have been jailed for more than two years. Their trial began in January.
Italian law allows for suspects in serious crimes to be jailed even before indictment, if they are considered a flight risk among other reasons. Knox is likely to remain in jail, even though in Italy sentences are not served until all appeals are exhausted, a process that can take years.
Within 90 days, the jury will submit a report listing their reasons for their decision.
KING 5's Linda Byron and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
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