Defendants in Italy have the right to skip court hearings, but Amanda Knox of Seattle chose to attend the closed-door proceedings in the small Umbrian university town of Perugia.

Police escorted her to the courthouse from jail, where she has been held since shortly after the Nov. 1 stabbing death of 21-year-old Meredith Kercher. The two young women shared a rented house.

Also in court was Ivory Coast citizen Rudy Hermann Guede, who has acknowledged being in the victim's room, where the body was found in a pool of blood after she was stabbed in the neck.

The third suspect, who was jailed the same day as Knox, is Italian student Raffaele Sollecito. He stayed in jail during the hearing.

All three suspects have denied any wrongdoing.

Kercher's parents and sister attended the hearing, where their lawyer was expected to formally file a claim for damages. In Italy, civil lawsuits can be attached to criminal trials.

Judge Paolo Micheli was expected to rule on prosecutors' requests for an indictment in several weeks, lawyers have said.

Prosecutors have said the suspects strangled and stabbed Kercher, who was a student at Leeds University in England, and allege Guede engaged in sexual violence against her with the help of Knox and Sollecito. No motives for the slaying have emerged.

Prosecutors have asked the court to charge the three with Kercher's death as well as counts of sexual violence and theft for stealing $475, two credit cards and two cell phones from Kercher.

Kercher's family said they hoped for justice.

"We've pleased that we've reached a new phase in the process, hoping that justice will soon be done for Meredith," the victim's sister, Stephanie Kercher, told reporters on Monday. The family recalled their loved one's "caring, loving nature, and laughter," and how she "loved everything about Italy."

Guede was arrested in Germany and extradited to Italy in December.

Knox, a 21-year-old student at the University of Washington, and Sollecito, 24, have given conflicting statements, saying they smoked hashish the night of the slaying. Sollecito has said he was at his own apartment in Perugia, working at his computer. He said he does not remember if Knox spent the whole night with him.

Knox has insisted she was not at home during the slaying. Her DNA was found on the handle of a knife that prosecutors say might have been used in the slaying, while Kercher's DNA was found on the blade.

Guede, 21, has denied killing Kercher and has accused an unidentified Italian of trying to frame him. He has asked for a fast-track trial, in which evidence is presented in document form and no witnesses testify. It can lead to a lesser sentence if the suspect is convicted.

Also attending the hearing Tuesday was Diya "Patrick" Lumumba, a Congolese citizen who was originally jailed in the case after Knox accused him of involvement. Lumumba said he was planning to seek defamation damages from her.

Knox at one point told prosecutors she was in the apartment the night of the slaying and had to cover her ears to muffle Kercher's screams while Lumumba killed her, according to court documents.

Lumumba owns a pub in Perugia that is a popular hangout for students. He is no longer a suspect.

The Canadian Press, 2008