Life requested for Knox in Italy murder

PERUGIA, ITALY (AP) - Prosecutors have requested a life sentence for an American student and her former Italian boyfriend accused of killing a young British woman in Italy.

Prosecutor Giuliano Mignini on Saturday asked a jury in Perugia to convict Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito on charges of murder and sexual violence for their alleged role in the 2007 slaying of Meredith Kercher. They deny wrongdoing.

Knox took a deep breath when Mignini made his request. Life in prison is Italy's stiffest punishment.

Mignini argued that Knox, Sollecito and a third man who was convicted in a separate trial killed Kercher during a drug-induced sex game.

According to Knox, who took the stand last June, the two suspects went to Sollecito's place to watch a movie on his computer on Nov. 1 and spent the night there, smoking pot and having sex.

The Briton's body was found on the morning of Nov. 2 in the apartment she shared with Knox.

The 21-year-old woman is believed to have died between 9 p.m. and 11 p.m. on Nov. 1, based on the autopsy and the accounts of friends with whom she had eaten dinner that night, according to court documents.

Rudy Hermann Guede from Ivory Coast was sentenced to 30 years in prison last year for the killing. He is appealing his conviction.