Meredith Kercher killer Rudy Guede requests fresh trial

The Ivorian has always insisted he is innocent of the 2007 murder

Meredith Kercher was murdered in 2007 (PA)

The man sentenced to 16 years in an Italian prison for killing British student Meredith Kercher has filed an appeal against his conviction.

Lawyers acting on behalf of Rudy Guede have said he is innocent and are seeking another new trial.

It is the latest challenge in the long running legal saga following the death of the 21-year-old in Perugia in 2007.

Guede, originally from the Ivory Coast, was convicted of sexually assaulting and stabbing Ms Kercher in her bedroom and sentenced to 30 years in prison but it was later reduced to 16 years on appeal.

American Amanda Knox, Ms Kercher’s flatmate, and Ms Knox’s then boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito, were also convicted to 28 and 25 years respectively for the crime in 2009.

But two years later they had their convictions quashed following an appeal and were released.

A hearing in January 2014 reconvicted them before the Italian Supreme Court finally overturned the guilty verdict for good in March 2015.

The Court of Cassation said there was an “absolute lack of biological traces” of the pair in Ms Kercher’s room and on her body and said there were “stunning flaws” in the investigation.

Guede’s conviction for homicide found he was “acting with others”, but he is the only person who has been definitely convicted for the murder.

It is unclear whether his request for a new trial can be granted as he has already exhausted all his appeals.

Additional reporting by PA