Rudy Guede, who was found guilty of the murder of British student Meredith Kercher in Perugia in 2007, has been released from prison on temporary licence.
Speaking outside of Florence’s Florence Capanne Prison, Mr Guede said he was sorry to the Kercher family and their loved ones.
Speaking to Sky News, Mr Guede said: “I am deeply sorry to the Kercher family, and to all those who were affected by the crime. In light of a new legal decision, I will therefore apply to the authorities in Florence to have my temporary stay extended for one year.”
Last week, the Italian supreme court ordered his trial for the murder of Kercher to be annulled as evidence of Kercher’s alcohol use was presented against her that had been overlooked.
Ms Kercher, a Leeds University student, was found with her throat slit in her Perugia flat on November 2, 2007. Guede, an immigrant from Ivory Coast, was arrested just 24 hours after the crime and convicted in two Italian trials. He has been appealing his conviction ever since.
“After seven years, the supreme court of Italy has done what the others did not,” said his lawyer in a statement last week. “They have ended this legal limbo.”
When asked by reporters whether he would personally apologise to Kercher’s family, Mr Guede said: “I would like to send my sincere apologies,” adding: “It’s an enormous question.”
Anneliese Dodds, one of Kercher’s relatives, said in a statement that the family was “a little surprised” to hear of the release: “It is a difficult time, trying to put all of this together. But we must not let it cloud our mourning as it has done in the past.”