New Testimony, New Hope for Amanda Knox

Mario Alessi Interview Claims that Neither Knox nor Sollecito were at the Crime Scene the Night of the Murder

(CBS/ AP)  A convict has offered new testimony in the murder case of American student Amanda Knox, according to the lawyer for Knox's former boyfriend.

Knox and her former boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito were convicted of killing Meredith Kercher, a 21-year Briton who was Knox's roommate. All were studying in Perugia, a small university town in central Italy.

Rudy Hermann Guede of the Ivory Coast was convicted in separate proceedings. All three have denied wrongdoing.

Mario Alessi, a convicted murderer who was held in the same ward of the Viterbo prison as Guede, volunteered new information and held talks in prison with Sollecito's defense team on Feb. 20, Sollecito's lawyer Luca Maori told The Associated Press.

Alessi passed on the information in a new videotaped interview with lawyers who are working to overturn the conviction of Sollecito and Amanda Knox, reports CBS News correspondent Richard Roth.

The newspaper Corriere della Sera and other Italian media reported that Alessi had said Guede told him that Knox and Sollecito were not at the crime scene the night of the murder and had nothing to do with it. They did not cite a source for their information and Maori declined to provide details.

Guede's lawyers told the AP their client never talked to Alessi about the case.

A lawyer for the family of Meredith Kercher dismissed the testimony as 'groundless,' reports Roth.

Knox and Sollecito are appealing their convictions.

Earlier this week, Knox's mother Edda Mellas told CBS "The Early Show" she was hopeful her daughter's lawyers can overturn the decision.

"I'm really encouraged," Mellas told The Early Show Friday. "Our lawyers are seeing huge amounts of things that they can fight."

More on Amanda Knox:
Amanda Knox's 3rd Christmas in Prison
Amanda Knox's Partner in Crime Speaks Out
Italy: Knox "Tranquil and Confident"
48 Hours: American Girl, Italian Murder
Italy: Knox Verdict Hasn't Hurt U.S. Ties