The family of British student Meredith Kercher said yesterday nothing would ever fill the "hole in our lives" after American Amanda Knox and her Italian ex-boyfriend were jailed for her murder.

At a packed news conference hours after the court's midnight verdict, Meredith's eldest brother John said the family did not want their memories of her to be ruined by her murder two years ago in the central Italian city of Perugia, where the 21-year-old had come to study European Relations.

"Meredith still leaves quite a big hole in our lives and her presence is missed every time we meet up as a family," said a composed John, flanked by his brother Lyle, sister Stephanie and their parents.

"Everyone in this room associates Meredith with a tragic event, but we prefer not to remember her that way. We prefer to concentrate on the 21 years we passed with her."

Retaining a dignified calm despite jostling among the international media pack in the small conference room, Lyle said the family was "satisfied" with the court ruling that sentenced Knox to 26 years in prison and Raffaele Sollecito to 25.

"It is not a moment of triumph. At the end of the day we are gathered here because our sister was brutally murdered," he said. "Not only did that affect us and the lives of everyone who knew her ... but also some very young people yesterday who have been sentenced to a very long time in prison."

After a year-long trail in which prosecutors' methods have been called into question by Knox's defence and US media, the Kercher family declined to comment explicitly on whether they thought Knox and Sollecito deserved their sentences.

"We are not the judge and the jury," said Lyle. "We are not the ones doing the investigation, but at the end of the day we fully support the information given to us."