Rafaelle Sollecito denies Kercher murder

The ex-boyfriend of Amanda Knox has made a courtroom appeal against his conviction for the 2007 murder of UK student Meredith Kercher in Italy.Raffaele Sollecito, 27, told a jury in Perugia he had never harmed anyone in his life and he was in a "nightmare" he had never woken up from.Knox, 24, is also due to address the court following the 11-month appeal against her 26 year sentence.A verdict on the appeals is expected later on Monday.Knox, 24, and Raffaele Sollecito, 27, were jailed for 26 and 25 years respectively.Prosecutors have said they will appeal if the verdict is overturned.The appeal case has centred on a review of DNA evidence on a kitchen knife, thought to be the murder weapon, which indicated that the evidence was flawed.But prosecutors have called for the sentences to be increased to life terms, saying there was also considerable circumstantial evidence putting the ex-lovers at the scene of the killing.The family of Miss Kercher are not due to arrive in Italy until later on Monday.The trial has heard some colourful phrases used to describe Knox, with one lawyer comparing the American to Who Framed Roger Rabbit cartoon character Jessica Rabbit, and another to a witch.Carlo Pacelli, who represents Diya "Patrick" Lumumba - the man Knox originally accused of the murder - said she had a split personality.One side was "angelic, good, compassionate, and in some ways even saintly", but the other side was "Lucifer-like, demonic, satanic, diabolic" and "longs to live out borderline extreme behaviour", he said.The jury, which comprises two judges and six members of the public, will retire to consider its verdict after the statements.If the conviction is upheld, the pair can appeal for a final time at Italy's highest appeals court.Knox's family have said they will take her back to Seattle immediately if it is overturned, despite prosecutors vowing to appeal.Her father Curt told ABC News in America that her family would not rest until she had been released.He said: "We will do everything we can. If it happens to go bad we have another alternative in going to the Supreme Court within Italy and we won't stop until she comes home to us."He added: "She's obviously very tense. She's 24 years old and she's looking at a potential life sentence, so that is not a pleasant experience for anyone."We're just very hopeful - and she is - that they see she really had nothing to do with this horrific crime."Miss Kercher, from Coulsdon, had been sharing a cottage with Knox during an exchange year abroad from Leeds University.Prosecutors says she was killed in a brutal sex game which went wrong. Her throat had been slit and she had been sexually assaulted.Miss Kercher's family have said they feel the true victim has been "completely forgotten", with the media's focus on Knox.In a recent interview on Italian television, her sister Stephanie said: "In these four years, Meredith has been completely forgotten. But we need to find justice for her, we need to find the truth for her."A third person - Rudy Guede, 21 - was also convicted of Miss Kercher's murder in a separate trial and was sentenced to 30 years in prison.His conviction was upheld on appeal but his sentence reduced to 16 years.