Amanda Knox gave me alibi, says Sollecito

Raffaele Sollecito has sought to establish a defence independent of Amanda Knox for the first time. Picture: Getty

RAFFAELE Sollecito has said his American ex-girlfriend provided alibis for him that he will use to argue Italy’s court of last resort should dismiss his conviction for the murder of her British room-mate Meredith Kercher.

Amanda Knox’s former boyfriend hopes the Court of Cassation will rule he deserves yet another trial and throw out the 25-year sentence he received in January from a Florence appeals court.

That court convicted Sollecito and Knox of the 2007 murder of the 21-year-old student.

His lawyers will stress apparent contradictions in the Florence court’s 337-page verdict explanation.

The Florence court signalled it believed a memo Knox wrote, while being held for questioning, in which she indicates Sollecito had no role in the murder.

“She herself lets me off the hook and gives me an alibi,” the 30-year-old said.

He noted the court accepted findings that a Knox text message - sent shortly before the murder to the owner of a Perugia pub where she worked - had been sent while outside Sollecito’s house.

He insisted he was not trying to pin the murder on Knox.

Flanked by his lawyers in Rome, he stressed his belief in the innocence of Knox, whom he had been dating for barely a week when Ms Kercher was slain in Perugia, Italy.

She was sexually assaulted and stabbed multiple times. Her half-naked body was found in her bedroom.

Sollecito said: “I want to make clear that I and all the people around me, including my family, have always believed, and we still believe today, in the innocence of Amanda Marie Knox.”

The Florence court sentenced Knox to 28 years and six months in prison. The 26-year-old, who has repeatedly proclaimed her innocence, has been in the US since a 2011 court ruling acquitted both her and Sollecito.