PERUGIA, Italy – Italian police on Friday were investigating whether a text message predicting a British exchange student's death was sent by one of the three people suspected of killing the 21-year-old woman, the Daily Mail reports.
Click here to read a report in the Daily Mail.
The text message said, "For me, tomorrow or tonight Meredith dies," and was sent to a man who thought he received it in error, according to the Daily Mail.
Meredith Kercher was found dead Nov. 2 in the Perugia apartment she shared with American exchange student Amanda Marie Knox, 20, of Seattle.
An Italian judge Friday ordered Knox, her boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito, 24, and Diya "Patrick" Lumumba, 38, to remain in jail as suspects in her death.
Kercher's body was found in the apartment, where police said she died fighting off a sexual attack. The coroner said she was stabbed in the neck.
The weapon, believed to be a flick knife, belongs to Sollecito, according to a report in the Times of London.
Click here to read the report in the Times of London.
The judge investigating Kercher's death said the knife was one that Sollecito "always carried with him," the Times reported.
It was this evidence that made the judge decide Friday to hold the trio. Italian law allows them to be held in custody for up to a year before charges are brought.
A court document allegedly says a violent and intimidating sex act took place between Kercher and Lumumba, with Knox allegedly helping him.
A fingerprint on Kercher's face matched that of Knox and suggests Kercher was held down while she was attacked, according to Sky News, which sourced police documents.
Click here to read the report from Sky News.
After being arrested, Knox reportedly told police she heard screaming coming from Kercher's bedroom, but she covered her ears, according to Sky News.
The three have denied involvement in the killing, according to their lawyers.
Luca Maori, one of Sollecito's lawyers, said they were "perplexed" by the judge's recent decision.
"We didn't expect it," Maori told reporters, adding that he still had to read the ruling and planned to appeal.
The three have denied involvement in the killing, their lawyers have said.
Depending on the course of the investigation, prosecutors later may seek to indict the suspects and put them on trial.
Associated Press material was used in this report.
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