Nov. 2, 2007

Meredith Kercher, 21, is found with her throat cut in her bedroom in a house in the Italian town of Perugia. Her body is partially clothed.

Nov. 4

A postmortem exam reveals evidence of sexual activity at some point before Kercher died, but no confirmation that she was raped.

Nov. 5

Police are said to be trawling through Kercher's diary and examining her laptop and email account in an attempt to track down her killer.

Nov. 6

Police arrest Kercher's housemate, UW student Amanda Knox, 20, Knox's boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito, 23, and Congolese Diya Lumumba, 38. Police say Kercher was murdered because she refused to take part in violent sex. Knox had reportedly broken down and confessed to the crime. The three are held on suspicion of conspiracy to commit manslaughter and sexual violence.

Nov. 7

Knox reportedly told officers she covered her ears to block the sound of screaming coming from Kercher's bedroom. Kercher was supposedly in the room with Lumumba.

Nov. 9

A judge rules Knox, Sollecito and Lumumba can be held up to a year during the investigation. A newspaper report says initial police results shows no evidence that Lumumba was in Kercher's room. Lumumba's lawyer says Lumumba was at work at the time. Sollecito's lawyer says Sollecito was at home. Knox's lawyer says she is innocent.

Nov. 11

Knox's mother tells reporters Knox did not hear Kercher's screams the night she died because she was with Sollecito at his house.

Nov. 12

It’s discovered that Knox was allegedly caught on camera entering the apartment she shared with Kercher the night Kercher was killed, contradicting Knox’s claim that she was at Sollecito's house.

Nov. 15

DNA is reportedly found on a kitchen knife belonging to Sollecito, with Knox's DNA near the handle and Kercher's on the blade.

Nov. 20

A fourth suspect, Rudy Hermann Guede, 20, is arrested in Germany, Lumumba is released from a Rome prison.

Nov. 22

Guede reportedly admits he was in Kercher's house on the night of the murder but says an Italian man he did not know committed the crime.

Nov. 27

A bloody fingerprint belonging to Knox is found on a tap in the bathroom next to Kercher's bedroom, putting Knox at the crime scene.

Nov. 30

An Italian court rejects appeals from Knox and Sollecito to be released from prison after the lead investigator warned the court they might run if set free.

Dec. 13

Knox tells an Italian newspaper she is "stunned" by the crime and denies being part of it.

Jan. 10, 2008

Italian media report that Sollecito's DNA was found on a piece of a bra belonging to Kercher.

Jan. 11

Reports that police found traces of a bloody footprint in Knox's bedroom.

Jan. 31

It is revealed that police have found mystery traces of DNA on Kercher's bra that do not match up with any of the three suspects.

March 27

The Italian news agency Ansa reports that Guede told investigators he saw Sollecito and heard the voice of Knox at Kercher's house the night she was found dead.

April 1

Knox, Sollecito and Guede lose their appeals to be released from prison and are told they will stay behind bars until they are charged or released.

April 19

Kercher's family attend a closed court hearing in Italy to hear evidence relating to her death after leaks in the Italian media suggested she may not have been sexually assaulted on the night she was murdered.

Sept. 16

All three suspects appear before a judge in the first of a series of pre-trial hearings in Perugia. The judge grants Guede's request for a fast-track trial.

Sept. 26

Knox and Sollecito come face to face in a closed courtroom for the first time since being jailed after the murder last November.

Oct. 24

Sollecito could not have murdered Kercher because he was downloading a cartoon at home at the time, his lawyers say in court.

Oct. 27

A judge rules Knox and Sollecito will stand trial for Kercher's murder.