American Held in Study-Abroad Slaying

Nov. 7, 2007 — -- A student from Seattle has reportedly given a "partial confession" to Italian authorities investigating the brutal stabbing death of her exchange program roommate.

Police chief Arturo De Felice from the Italian city of Perugia told the BBC this morning that Amanda Knox, 20, told investigators that she heard Meredith Kercher, a 21-year-old British citizen, scream the night she was murdered. De Felice told the BBC that Knox had given a partial confession, but kept changing her story.

Kercher, Knox's roommate, was found dead Friday in her home in Perugia, about 100 miles north of Rome, after reportedly attending a Halloween party, Italian authorities said.

Kercher was found half-naked and in a pool of blood with a deep cut in her throat. Authorities said she was stabbed with a pen knife or sharp piece of glass, likely while trying to fight off a sexual attack.

Knox, a student at the University of Washington, is one of three people being held on suspicion of murder. Also being detained are her Italian boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito, 24, and a 38-year-old Congolese man who runs a shop in the town.

De Felice told the BBC he believes all three were in the room when Kercher was killed.

An autopsy found no evidence of rape, according to De Felice, but he said that "a sexual motive is probable." He also described Kercher at a news conference as "a victim and nothing more."

In a statement released through Scotland Yard, Kercher's family said the student's murder has "destroyed so many lives."

Kercher, a third-year student at Leeds University in England, had been in Italy since August on a 12-month exchange program.

A candlelight vigil was held Monday night for Kercher, with friends and acquaintances gathering on the steps of the Italian city's cathedral.

Information from The Associated Press and Reuters was used in this report.