The American flatmate of murdered British exchange student Meredith Kercher allegedly confessed to police that she heard her die, it emerged today.
Amanda Knox (20) reportedly told officers she covered her ears to the sound of screaming coming from the student's bedroom in the house they shared in Perugia, Italy.
Meredith Kercher
In her alleged confession, published in the Corriere Della Sera newspaper, she claimed Miss Kercher was in her room with suspect Lumumba "Patrick" Diya when she started to scream.
She said: "Patrick and Meredith were in Meredith's room, while I had stayed in the kitchen.
"I can't remember how long they were together in the room but I can only say that at a certain point I had heard Meredith screaming and I was scared so I covered my ears.
"After that I don't remember everything, my head is very confused. I don't remember if Meredith called out or if I heard thuds because I was upset, but I can imagine what was happening."
Italian police believe Miss Kercher (21) was killed after she refused to have violent sex with her friends. Ms Knox, from Seattle, Washington, her Italian boyfriend, student Raffaelle Sollecito (24) and Mr Diya (37) originally from the Congo, were all arrested yesterday.
They are being held on suspicion of conspiracy to commit manslaughter and to commit sexual violence. Ms Knox's mother Edda Mellas was travelling to Perugia to support her daughter after her housemate's horrific murder when she was told she was now a suspect in the case.
Correire Della Sera said Ms Knox "confessed" to officers early yesterday morning, saying: "I want to talk about what has happened because this event has profoundly upset me and I am very scared of Patrick, the African man who owns the pub Le Chic where I work occasionally."
The student claimed she met Mr Diya on November 1st and went back to her house with him. She allegedly said: "I can't remember whether my friend Meredith was already home or whether she came back later. What I can say is that the two of them went off together."
Ms Knox claimed she spent the night at Sollecito's house but returned the next morning to find the door of her house open, according to the Italian paper. She also reportedly said she had seen Mr Diya again on Monday morning, when he asked her about the police investigation.