An Italian court is preparing to give its verdict in the retrial of Amanda Knox and her former boyfriend, both accused of murdering British student Meredith Kercher.

Knox’s former Italian boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito, will be in court to hear the verdict. US citizen Knox has stayed in the United States, saying she is scared to return because of bias against her.

Both have pleaded their innocence and were acquitted of the crime on appeal in 2011, after spending four years in custody.

But last year, the Supreme Court dismissed the ruling as flawed and ordered a new appeal.

Judges in Florence have been hearing from Knox’s defence team and are now deliberating the verdict.

Kercher, a student from south London, was found with her throat cut in a flat she shared with Knox in the city of Perugia in 2007.

If Knox is convicted in her absence, Italy may face a legal battle to extradite her from the US.