Rudy Guede: Meredith Kercher’s killer freed early from jail

The 34-year-old served 14 years for the sexual assault and murder of the British exchange student in Perugia, Italy

Rudy Guede, convicted of the 2007 murder of British student Meredith Kercher, has been released from prison early in Italy (Alberto Pizzoli/AFP via Getty Images)

The man convicted of the 2007 murder of British student Meredith Kercher has been released early from prison.

Rudy Guede served 14 years of a 16-year jail sentence after being found guilty of the sexual assault and murder of Ms Kercher in Perugia, central Italy.

He was expected to be released in January but has been freed early for good behaviour, according to Italian media reports.

Fabrizio Ballarini, his lawyer, said his thoughts were with Ms Kercher and her family following the “painful” case. He added that Guede, 34, originally from the Ivory Coast, had completed an “excellent” path to rehabilitation.

Exchange student Ms Kercher, 21, from Coulsdon, Surrey, was found sexually assaulted and stabbed in her room on 1 November 2007.

Guede, who was 20 at the time, was convicted during a closed fast-track trial in 2008 after his bloody fingerprint was found at the scene.

He served most of his time behind bars at Mammagialla Prison in Viterbo but has spent the past year doing community service.

A floral tribute at the funeral of Meredith Kercher in south London (PA)

Ms Kercher’s American flatmate Amanda Knox and her then Italian boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito were also initially convicted in 2009 following a separate trial.

They served four years behind bars before they were eventually acquitted. They have both always maintained their innocence.