Kercher accused 'a second victim,' his lawyer says

Raffaele Sollecito has a "romantic approach to the opposite sex"

The man accused of killing British student Meredith Kercher was "incapable of taking part in the alleged sexual misadventure" which led to her death.

Miss Kercher, 21, from Surrey, was found dead in her bedroom in 2007.

In his closing statement, Raffaele Sollecito's defence lawyer Luca Maori said the engineering student was "the second victim in this affair".

Mr Sollecito, 25, and his former girlfriend Amanda Knox, 21, both deny charges of murder and sexual violence.

The prosecution is seeking life terms for both Mr Sollecito and US student Miss Knox after presenting DNA and other forensic evidence allegedly linking the pair to the crime scene in Perugia.

Meredith Kercher was on a student exchange programme in Italy

Both deny killing Miss Kercher during a drug-induced sex game in the house that Meredith shared with Miss Knox.

Rudy Guede, 22, from Ivory Coast, has been sentenced to 30 years in prison after he was convicted in a separate trial.

"This trial already has a guilty man, Rudy Guede," Mr Maori said.

At the beginning of the trial in January, the lead lawyer in Mr Sollecito's defence team, Giulia Bongiorno, said the pair were not a "bored couple" looking for excitement, noting that they had fallen in love just a week before the killing.

The court heard that Mr Sollecito had a "romantic approach to the other sex".

Miss Knox, who is from Seattle, testified that she spent the night of the murder with Mr Sollecito at his flat, where she said they smoked marijuana, had sex and watched a movie.

Next week Amanda Knox's legal team will begin their final statements.

The jury is expected to begin deliberating next Friday.