PERUGIA, Italy — A convicted child murderer testified Saturday at the appeals trial of Amanda Knox, saying that a fellow inmate had told him the American student had nothing to do with the killing of her roommate in Italy.
Mario Alessi, who is serving a life sentence for one of Italy’s most shocking crimes, the kidnap-murder of an Italian toddler snatched from his home, was called by defense attorneys as a witness.
He was one of five witnesses heard Saturday, also including a police informant who testified from behind a cover and a Neapolitan mobster.
Knox was convicted of sexually assaulting and murdering British student Meredith Kercher in the house the two shared in Perugia, and sentenced to 26 years in prison.
Her co-defendant and ex-boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito of Italy, was also convicted and sentenced to 25 years. Knox and Sollecito, who both attended the session Saturday, deny wrongdoing and are appealing their convictions.
Rudy Hermann Guede, an Ivorian, was convicted in a separate proceeding. His conviction has been confirmed by Italy’s highest criminal court. Guede also denies wrongdoing but admitted being in Knox and Kercher’s apartment the night of the murder Nov. 1, 2007.
Alessi is being held in the same prison as Guede. He testified that during November 2009 conversations with him there, the Ivorian told him that Knox and Sollecito are innocent. That was about a month before Knox and Sollecito were convicted in the first trial and while Guede had already been convicted and was appealing the decision.
Alessi said Guede approached him during recreation time at the Viterbo prison.
“Rudy links arms with me, inviting me to take a walk with him, he has something important to tell me,” Alessi testified. He quoted Guede as saying he was worried because “I don’t know whether to tell the truth or not,” and that the truth “is altogether different from what you hear on TV.”
Alessi was called to testify by Sollecito’s defense.
Guede has denied speaking to Alessi about the case, and he will be heard at the next hearing June 27 as a witness for the prosecution to counter Alessi’s claim. Guede is currently serving a 16-year prison sentence.
