Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito have been found guilty of killing British student Meredith Kercher in a drunken sex game.The American woman was sentenced to 26 years in jail and her Italian ex-boyfriend was given 25 years.
As the judge read out the verdicts, 22-year-old Knox began shaking and then broke down in tears.
She murmured, "No, no," as she hugged one of her lawyers.
Knox was then led away from the courtroom wailing and screaming.
Sollecito, 25, remained stoic throughout the verdict reading.
The pair were soon whisked away in police vans, with sirens blaring, to begin their jail terms.
Meredith, from Coulsdon, Surrey, was found naked and with her throat
slit in her room of the house she shared with Knox in Perugia, Italy,
in November 2007.
The eight-member jury, which included two judges, agreed with the
prosecution's case that the former lovers killed the 21-year-old
student in a violent sex game.
The Italian court also directed Knox and Sollecito to pay the
Kercher family five million euros compensation (£4.5m) for the murder.
Knox was also told she must pay 40,000 euros (£36,000) to
Patrick Lumumba, for defaming the local barman when she falsely accused him of the killing.
Outside court, the lawyer for Meredith's family said they had received justice, but added it was a tragedy for all involved.
"They got the justice they were expecting. We got what we were hoping for," he said.
It is understood the Kercher family will speak at a press conference in Perugia at 10am today.
The American's father, Curt Knox, was asked if he would fight on for his daughter.
"Hell, yes," he replied, before adding the conviction was a massive miscarriage of justice.
Talking to Sky News, Knox's aunt Janet Huff said: "Of course we're incredibly disappointed - that's not strong enough a phrase.
"Everything is just so sad tonight.
"We've got two innocent kids being put away for a crime they didn't commit."
Before the verdict, Knox's mother Edda Mellas vowed the family would
continue to battle for her daughter's freedom if she was convicted.
A third person, Rudy Guede, 22, from the Ivory Coast, was earlier convicted of the murder and sexual violence.
He was sentenced to 30 years in jail, a conviction he is appealing.
The Ivory Coast national has admitted being in the house on the night of the murder, but denies killing the British student.