The flat of murdered Coulsdon student Meredith Kercher has been ransacked in Perugia, Italy.

Intruders broke into the secured flat and trashed every room except Miss Kercher's, lit candles and placed kitchen knives various places across the property.

The Leeds University student was murdered in November 2007. She had been stabbed in the neck and her body hidden under a duvet.

The trial of two suspects in the murder continues after a third suspect, Rudy Guede, from the Ivory Coast, was sentenced to 30 years in prison last year in a fast-track trial he had requested.

American student Amanda Knox and her ex-boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito, who lived with Meredith, are on trial for her murder and are both being held by Italian authorities.

Police believe Meredith was killed when she refused to take part in a drug-fuelled sex orgy.

They say DNA evidence shows Knox and Sollecito were in the house at the time of the murder.

Officers had not been to the house since January 16, the start of the court case, and did not know exactly when the break-in happened.

The property was meant to be sealed off and guarded but intruders entered through a rear window.

Police are not posted outside but there is a padlock and chain on the drive gates, although a perimeter wall is quite easy to climb over.

Police said: “Four knives were found and they were all from inside the house. A candle was also found. This also appears to belong to one of the tenants.

“Traces of wax were found in Meredith’s bedroom.

“We are keeping an open mind on the motive. It is possible it was some unnatural reason, such as Satanism.”

Miss Kercher's family, who are seeking £27m from the alleged killers, called for a closed trial.