Knox defense has final word before deliberations

FLORENCE, Italy (AP) — U.S. student Amanda Knox's defense has the final word before a Florence appeals court decides whether she is guilty or not for the 2007 murder of her British roommate.

Knox's lawyer Carlo Dalla Vedova said in rebuttals Thursday that he is "serene" about the verdict because he believes the only conclusion from the case files is "the innocence of Amanda Knox."

Knox is awaiting the verdict in her third trial half a world away in Seattle, where she returned after being acquitted in Meredith Kercher's brutal murder in 2011. Knox's former Italian boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito was in court, accompanied by his father and other relatives.

The Florence panel will begin deliberations at the close of the Knox defense rebuttals. A verdict is expected later Thursday.