UP TO THE JURY

Amanda Knox: I'm Not an 'Assassin'

Verdict could come today.

Amanda Knox, the 22-year-old American student accused of killing British roommate Meredith Kercher during a drug-fueled sex game in an Italian flat, told the final hearing in her trial that she feared having "the mask of the assassin forced on to me," "losing myself," and "being convicted of something I am not and something I did not do." Knox thanked her family and her lawyers as well as the prosecution for doing their jobs even though "they do not understand." Knox allegedly held a knife to Kercher's throat while her Italian boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito, held Kercher down and Ivory Coast immigrant Rudy Guede, who has been sentenced to 30 years in prison for his part in the crime, sexually assaulted Kercher. Last week the prosecution wound up its closing arguments, arguing that the wounds inflicted on Kercher reached the point where the three had to decide whether to stop and risk later identification by Kercher to the police, or whether to silence Kercher forever. The defense argued that DNA evidence putting Knox and Sollecito at the crime scene is flawed. Knox also faces a defamation lawsuit by Patrick Lumumba, a Congolese bar owner she falsely accused of being the killer. The judges and six-member jury are expected to deliberate on Knox's guilt for 12 to 18 hours, so stay tuned.