Stunning revelation: 'Amanda wasn't at murder scene'
ROME - A stunning new revelation has emerged in the Amanda Knox case, casting new doubt on whether the Seattle student and her ex-boyfriend were present when Knox's roommate Meredith Kercher was killed in Perugia, Italy.
According to a report in Italian newspapers, Rudy Guede, a third man convicted in Kercher's murder, told his cellmate in Italian prison that Knox and her ex-boyfriend were not there when Kercher was killed.
The cellmate, Mario Alessi, a convicted murderer held in the same prison ward as Guede, came forward with the information and made a formal videotaped statement that has been submitted to the prosecutor's office in Perugia.
In the dramatic new statement, Guede's cellmate claims that Guede told him there was another man with him at Kercher's home on the night of the murder, but it was not Amanda or her ex-boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito.
According to the cellmate, Guede said the other man killed Kercher while Guede was in another room of the house.
Alessi said Guede also told him that Knox and Sollecito had nothing to do with the November 2007 murder.
But Guede's lawyers claim their client never talked to Alessi about the case. A lawyer for the Kercher family, Enzo Maresca, dismissed the cellmate's statement as "groundless."
The new version of events, as revealed by Guede's cellmate, contradicts Guede's testimony at his own trial, where he testified that Knox and Sollecito participated in the murder of the 21-year-old British student.
Knox and Sollecito were convicted of Kercher's murder in December, following a lengthy trial in which the prosecutor claimed that the two of them stabbed Kercher in the throat during a sex game.
The prosecution also alleged that there was growing animosity between Knox and Kercher before the murder, but the judges in the case ruled this week that Knox and Sollecito killed Kercher without resentment or animosity.
Knox is currently serving a 26-year prison sentence for the murder, and Sollecito is serving a 25-year sentence. Guede originally was sentenced to 30 years, but that was reduced to a 16-year sentence on appeal.
Knox and Sollecito are appealing their convictions.
According to a report in Italian newspapers, Rudy Guede, a third man convicted in Kercher's murder, told his cellmate in Italian prison that Knox and her ex-boyfriend were not there when Kercher was killed.
The cellmate, Mario Alessi, a convicted murderer held in the same prison ward as Guede, came forward with the information and made a formal videotaped statement that has been submitted to the prosecutor's office in Perugia.
In the dramatic new statement, Guede's cellmate claims that Guede told him there was another man with him at Kercher's home on the night of the murder, but it was not Amanda or her ex-boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito.
According to the cellmate, Guede said the other man killed Kercher while Guede was in another room of the house.
Alessi said Guede also told him that Knox and Sollecito had nothing to do with the November 2007 murder.
But Guede's lawyers claim their client never talked to Alessi about the case. A lawyer for the Kercher family, Enzo Maresca, dismissed the cellmate's statement as "groundless."
The new version of events, as revealed by Guede's cellmate, contradicts Guede's testimony at his own trial, where he testified that Knox and Sollecito participated in the murder of the 21-year-old British student.
Knox and Sollecito were convicted of Kercher's murder in December, following a lengthy trial in which the prosecutor claimed that the two of them stabbed Kercher in the throat during a sex game.
The prosecution also alleged that there was growing animosity between Knox and Kercher before the murder, but the judges in the case ruled this week that Knox and Sollecito killed Kercher without resentment or animosity.
Knox is currently serving a 26-year prison sentence for the murder, and Sollecito is serving a 25-year sentence. Guede originally was sentenced to 30 years, but that was reduced to a 16-year sentence on appeal.
Knox and Sollecito are appealing their convictions.