In her report on the murder inquiry, she said: “The verdict reached is that was caused by a haemorrhage from a neck wound after the blow of a sharp and pointed weapon. 

“It emerges that the wound had not hit the carotid artery so the death was preceded by a relatively slow agony.”

She said police were confronted by an appalling scene when they entered the apartment which Meredith shared with Knox.

“There was a chilling scene  with bloodstains everywhere, on the ground and on the walls, and also under the duvet of the bed a foot could be seen.

“The agents, in order to avoid any pollution of the crime scene, stopped everyone from entering the room.”

From 120 useful fingerprints and other samples, police revealed that 40 belonged to flatmates or regular visitors, while the remaining 80 came from “unknown individuals”. None belonged to Lumumba.

Matches were made with Nike trainers owned by Sollecito and imprints found in the bloodstains.

One imprint was found under the duvet which had been used to cover Meredith’s lifeless body which according to Judge Matteini “represented a sign of serious evidence of Sollecito’s guilt”.

The judge added that a flick knife found in his possession with an 8.5cm blade and which was compatible with the wound in Meredith’s throat was also of significance.

According to court documents, Meredith’s hour of death was given as around 11pm on November 1 and she had eaten her last meal at 9pm the same night.  

Last night Knox’s solicitor Luciano Ghirga said police would be asking her parents to encourage her to confess to police.

She said: “All of the lawyers have imposed on Amanda the gravity of her situation, and 

the gravity of accusing other people. They have all told her that she needs to tell the truth because there have been differences in the statements.

“We have asked her family to persuade her in the hope that her parents will ask her to tell the truth. There have been differing statements.”