Italy murder suspect to be extradited

updated 10:47 a.m. ET Dec. 3, 2007

BERLIN - German authorities agreed Monday to extradite to Italy a key suspect in the slaying of a British university student in the central Italian city of Perugia.

Rudy Hermann Guede, a native of Ivory Coast, is wanted in connection with the sexual assault and fatal stabbing of 21-year-old Meredith Kercher, who was found dead in her Perugia apartment Nov. 2.

Guede was arrested in Germany after police caught him riding a tram without a ticket. Two other suspects, Kercher's American housemate Amanda Marie Knox and Knox's then-boyfriend, Italian Raffaele Sollecito, remain jailed in Italy in connection with the case.

Suspect had sex with victim
Prosecutors in the southwestern German city of Koblenz agreed Monday to turn Guede over to Italy.

"The extradition can take place as soon as Italian authorities agree to a date for the handover," prosecutor Norbert Weise said in a statement.

Italian authorities say DNA tests confirm Guede had sex with the victim on the night of the slaying.

Guede's lawyer, Walter Biscotti, said he did not know when his client would be turned over to Italy. He said Guede's father was on his way to Germany with two defense lawyers to meet with his son Tuesday.

Biscotti has said Guede admitted he was in Kercher's room the night she died but said he didn't kill her and that an Italian who is trying to frame him did.

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