The couple convicted of murdering Coulsdon student Meredith Kercher will have to wait until Friday to hear if their convictions will be upheld after Italy’s highest court decided to delay its decision.

Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito were set to learn their fate today but closing arguments were said to be taking longer than expected so the Court of Cassation in Rome has adjourned the case.

Sollecito’s defence team will have their say on Friday before the judges give their verdict.

Ms Kercher, 21, was sexually assaulted and stabbed to death in her bedroom in 2007 while studying in Perugia, Italy.

Her flatmate Knox, a student from Seattle in the US, and Knox's then-boyfriend Sollecito spent four years in jail for the murder but were acquitted on appeal in 2011.

Knox returned to the US before an appeal court threw out the acquittal and reinstated her and Sollecito's guilty verdicts last year.

If Italy's Supreme Court finally upholds the convictions it would put an end to eight years of courtroom twists and turns, or it could order another appeal.

Knox, who is now 27, was not in court today and instead was in her home town of Seattle.

The Kercher family, who were not in court today, have said that if Knox's conviction is confirmed they want authorities in the US to extradite her to Italy.

Kercher family lawyer Francesco Maresca said earlier this week: "The interest of the family is to arrive to the end of this trial. They want to be able to remember Meredith outside of the court room."

Knox said last year she would become a "fugitive" if convicted and would have to be taken back "kicking and screaming" to Italy.

If her conviction is upheld she could delay going to jail if she were pregnant, according to Italian legal experts.

Last month, she announced her engagement to 27-year-old musician and school friend Colin Sutherland, who wrote to her while she was in jail.

There has also been speculation that political pressure from the US could hamper the extradition process.

Sollecito is reportedly seeking to separate his case from Knox's, with his lawyers pointing out that a partial confession written by the American and later retracted did not mention his presence at the scene of the crime.

If that argument succeeds, the Italian could be given a new trial.