Crimson Red Sports

Amanda Knox was said to have a plane standing by to whisk her out of Italy if her appeal was upheld, whereas the family of her alleged victim, the British student, Meredith Kercher, were having difficulty getting air tickets to be in court for the decision, their lawyer said on Friday.

Francesco Maresca was speaking as the appeal by the 24-year-old Knox and her former Italian boyfriend built towards a much-anticipated climax. In line with Italian court practice, each of the parties to the case was given a last chance to sway the two professional and six lay judges.

According to unconfirmed reports in the Italian media, a US television network has put a private jet at the disposal of the Knox family. "Well now," said Maresca when his turn came to speak. "The Kercher family has problems finding the tickets to come here to hear the outcome on Monday morning."

Money, class and race were all deployed on the penultimate day of an appeal that has also been rich in allusions to sex, religion and even the occult.

According to the prosecution, Kercher died resisting a violent sex game involving the appellants and Rudy Guede from Ivory Coast. The defence's central argument has been that Guede, who has been definitively convicted of the murder, killed Kercher on his own after breaking in to the flat she shared with Knox.