26 March 2013 Last updated at 14:37

In pictures: Meredith Kercher murder case

Meredith Kercher, a 21-year-old Leeds University student from Coulsdon, south London, was living in the central Italian city of Perugia as part of a year studying abroad when she was killed in November 2007.

The flat where Meredith Kercher was found dead

Miss Kercher was found with her throat cut at her Perugia flat after what prosecutors claimed was a sex game that had gone wrong. The British student's bloodied and partially clothed body was discovered in this property.

Rudy Hermann Guede being held by Italian police officers

Rudy Guede, 21, was convicted of Miss Kercher's murder after a fast-track trial. He was sentenced to 30 years in jail, reduced to 16 on appeal. He had admitted being in the house at the time of the murder but denied involvement in Miss Kercher's death.

US student Amanda Knox, who lived with Miss Kercher, was also found guilty of Miss Kercher's murder after a separate trial and handed a 26-year prison sentence. Co-defendant, Miss Knox's Italian ex-boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito, was convicted and jailed for 25 years.

A lawyer of defendant Amanda Knox looking at DNA evidence

However, an independent review questioned the quality of the DNA evidence used to secure the convictions of Miss Knox and Mr Sollecito. It concluded that much of the evidence in the original trial fell below international standards and may have led to samples becoming contaminated.

The Perugia courthouse where the appeal was held

The appeal hearing began in November 2010 and turned the spotlight back on to Italian police procedures and the judicial system.

Amanda Knox being escorted into court for her appeal hearing

Much of the argument centred on a kitchen knife - found in Mr Sollecito's flat - which the prosecutors believed to be the murder weapon. They said Miss Knox's DNA was found on the knife's handle and Miss Kercher's on the blade.

Raffaele Sollecito at his appeal hearing

In the first trial, prosecutors said Mr Sollecito's DNA was found on the clasp of Miss Kercher's bra. Both he and Miss Knox denied any wrongdoing.

On 3 October 2011, after an 11-month appeal, a tearful Miss Knox addressed the appeal court in Perugia for the first time. Speaking in fluent Italian, she said: "I am not who they say I am. The perversion, the violence, the lack of respect for life - I did not do the things they are saying I did."

Mr Sollecito also addressed the court, denying ever having accused Miss Knox of the murder and saying he was in a "nightmare" from which he had never woken.

Meredith Kercher's sister Stephanie and mother Arline

Miss Kercher's sister, Stephanie, and mother, Arline, flew into Perugia to hear the appeal verdict. A family lawyer said it was a tense, emotional time for them as the verdict neared, and added that they thought the legal process had been "thorough".

Amanda Knox in tears after the appeal ruling

As the appeal court overturned the convictions against both Miss Knox and Mr Sollecito, the American student broke down in tears. The pair were freed from prison after nearly four years.

Stephanie Kercher puts an arm on her mother's back

The Kercher family expressed shock in a statement, saying they did not understand how the original verdict could be so "radically overturned". However, they said they trusted the Italian justice system to get to the truth.

Kercher family lawyer Francesco Maresca speaks to reporters outside Italy's Court of Cassation in Rome on 26 March 2013

One and a half years later, Italy's top court overturned the acquittals, which prosecutors argued were "contradictory and illogical". The case will now be reviewed. Francesco Maresca (centre), the Kerchers' solicitor, said this should reveal "the definitive and final truth of Meredith's murder".

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In pictures: Meredith Kercher murder case

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