Amanda Knox arrives in court for her appeal trial session in Perugia
Amanda Knox, the U.S. student convicted of murdering her British flatmate Meredith Kercher in Italy in November 2007, arrives in court for her appeal trial session in Perugia September 29, 2011. Knox is appealing against a 26-year jail term imposed after she was found guilty of murdering Kercher with the help of her Italian boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito, and another man during a drug-fuelled orgy. Prosecutors have asked the appeals court to extend her sentence to life in jail. Reuters

On November 2, 2007, the body of Meredith Kercher was found on the floor of the apartment that she shared with three other young women in the small town of Perugia, Italy. Examination confirmed that she was sexually assaulted and stabbed.

Kercher was a British university exchange student from Coulsdon, South London, and she had been studying for a year at the University of Perugia, as part of the ERASMUS student exchange program. Amanda Marie Knox, a University of Washington language student from Seattle, was one of those who shared the apartment with Kercher.

After initial investigations, the Italian police arrested and charged Knox and her then-boyfriend, an Italian, Raffaele Sollecito. The pair was found to be guilty of the murder and was sentenced to 26 and 25 years in prison, respectively. They were found guilty of what the lower courts called a drug-fueled sexual assault, according to a report in The Associated Press.

On Monday, however, both Knox and Sollecito hope to see their convictions and sentences overturned following their final appeal, according to a UK Press Association report.

In addition to Knox and Sollecito, the Italian judicial system also tried and sentenced Rudy Guede, a native of the Ivory Coast, a drifter and a small-time drug dealer, to 16 years in prison, according to a Global Post report. Guede was sentenced on Oct. 28, 2008.

Throughout the case, Knox has maintained her innocence, claiming that she wasn't involved in Kercher's brutal murder, and she has been appealing the verdict for over 10 months now.

The case has been covered extensively by media from all around the world and public reactions are divided - there are those who believe that Knox and Sollecito are innocent and wrongly convicted; and then there are those who believe that they were directly involved in Kercher's murder and convicted fairly.

According to the prosecution, all the three acted together and are equally responsible for Kercher's death.

Knox has been working, over the last three months, preparing for what is her last chance to convince the jurors of her innocence. Knox and Sollecito will address the court in Perugia, where the murder took place, the UKPA reported.

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