U.S. suspect in killing of British student described as "self-assured and cunning"

An American suspect jailed in connection with the killing of British student in Italy was described as "self-assured and cunning".

Photo: U.S. suspect in killing of British student described as "self-assured and cunning"

In a 35-page explanation of its ruling last week to keep University of Washington student Amanda Knox behind bars during the probe into the killing of Meredith Kercher, 21, the three-judge panel described Knox as "self-assured and cunning" but also naive and with a tendency for theatrics, Kercher family attorney Francesco Maresca told The Associated Press in a telephone interview.

Kercher was found dead Nov. 2 in the Perugia apartment she shared with Knox. An autopsy found that she died from knife wound to the neck, apparently while trying to fight off a sexual assault.

Knox, 20, her then-boyfriend, Italian Raffaele Sollecito, and an Ivory Coast native, Rudy Hermann Guede, are being detained in connection with the slaying.

Last week, the panel ruled that Knox and Sollecito must remain jailed. Guede, who was arrested in Germany, is expected to be transferred to Italy on Thursday.

Maresca called the panel's explanation "a well-reasoned ruling that puts Amanda in the leading position in the murder."

The lawyer who had a copy of the panel's explanation said the judges had reasoned that Kercher was killed by someone she knew since there were no traces of a break-in.

"Amanda lived in that house; she was someone Meredith trusted," Maresca said.