Italy frees man convicted of 2007 murder of Meredith Kercher

ROME (AP) — The only person convicted in the 2007 murder of British student Meredith Kercher has been freed after serving most of his 16-year prison sentence.  Italian news agencies LaPresse and ANSA quoted attorney Fabrizio Ballarini as saying Rudy Guede’s planned Jan. 4 release had been moved up a few weeks by a judge and he was freed on Tuesday. The murder in the university city of Perugia gained international notoriety after Kercher’s American roommate Amanda Knox and Knox’s then-boyfriend were placed under suspicion. Both were initially convicted but Italy’s highest court threw out the convictions in 2015 after a series of flip-flop decisions. Guede has denied killing Kercher.