UW student Amanda Knox questioned in Italian murder case

PERUGIA, Italy — The jailed American suspect in the slaying of a British student was questioned by prosecutors for six hours Monday and insisted that she was not involved, her lawyers said.

Investigators said she broke into tears at one point during questioning.

Amanda Knox “for six hours furnished her version of the facts, confirming what she has already said,” defense lawyer Giancarlo Costa said outside of Perugia prison, where the University of Washington student has been jailed since Nov. 6.

Asked by a reporter if Knox, 20, had reiterated her contention that she wasn’t in the house the night her roommate Meredith Kercher was slain, another defense lawyer, Luciano Ghirga, replied, “I think so.”

Knox, of Seattle, has been questioned several times, including before she was jailed. Court rulings have said that she has given conflicting accounts.

Kercher’s body was discovered on Nov. 2, half-naked in a pool of blood under bedcovers on the floor of her bedroom. An autopsy showed that the 21-year-old woman, who was studying at Perugia University, had been stabbed in the neck and sexually assaulted.

Investigators said Knox started crying when she was asked why she had accused a Perugia pub owner, Diya “Patrick” Lumumba,” of the slaying. Lumumba has been released from jail, although he has not been formally cleared.

The investigators spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they are not allowed to comment about ongoing investigations.

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