A suspect in the murder of a 22-year-old British exchange student here last month must remain in custody pending trial, a preliminary hearings judge ruled on Friday.
Although the reasons for the sentence will not be made public for a several days, observers believe the evidence against 21-year-old Ivory Coast national Rudy Hermann Guede and the nature of the crime were sufficient to deny bail.
Meredith Kercher was found November 2 with her throat slashed in the house she shared in Perugia with three other girls.
Police later arrested Kercher's 20-year-old American roommate Amanda Marie Knox and her 24-year old Italian boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito.
They also arrested Democratic Republic of Congo national Diya 'Patrick' Lumumba, 38, but he was released November 20 after no evidence was found to implicate him in the murder, except testimony by Knox who later retracted her statements.
Lumumba's release coincided with Guede's arrest in Germany, where he fled after the murder.
Guede was extradited to Italy last week.
A warrant was issued for his arrest on charges of sexual assault and murder after his fingerprints and DNA were identified at the scene of the crime and on the victim.
Guede has admitted being at the scene of the crime but denies any involvement and has said he wants cooperate with investigators.
However, prosecutors said his testimony has been incomplete and contradictory.
Earlier this month both Knox and Sollecito were denied bail.
Investigators are mounting a case to prove that Knox, Sollecito, Guede and perhaps others were responsible for Kercher's murder.
The evidence against Knox and Sollecito includes the suspicion that they tried to thoroughly clean the scene of the crime, to the point that only one of Knox's fingerprints had been found in an apartment where she had lived for months.
Two empty bottles of bleach were later found in Sollecito's apartment and his maid told police that it was not the same brand she always used there.
Police also found a large kitchen knife in his kitchen which had the victim's DNA on the blade and Knox's DNA on the handle.
Knox's blood was also found in the bathroom she shared with the victim which police suspect was left from a nosebleed after the apartment was cleaned, indicating she was there after the murder.
An examination of Sollecito's computer revealed that it had not been used just before and after the estimated time of death, from 9pm to 2am on the night between November 1 and 2, thus contradicting the student's claim that he had been working alone on his thesis that night.
Police also have a footprint left in Kercher's blood which matched the size and make of sneakers owned by Sollecito.
Kercher was buried in London on Friday. Her body was returned to Britain earlier this month after investigators determined that a further autopsy was not necessary.
Kercher, a student of Leeds University, arrived here at the end of August for a one-year exchange programme.
