Amanda Knox's ex-boyfriend alters message about Kercher killing

ROME, Feb. 26 (UPI) -- The lawyer for Raffaele Sollecito, boyfriend of U.S. student Amanda Knox when her roommate was killed in Italy, says his case should be considered separately.

"It's imperative that the Italian courts consider Raffaele's case separate from Amanda's case," lawyer John Kelly said. "By necessity, he has to distance himself and his case from Amanda and her case."

Sollecito, facing a prison term of 25 years after he and Knox were convicted a second time of the 2007 killing Meredith Kercher, also has altered his language when discussing the case and Knox, CNN reported Wednesday.

"There is nothing against me and nothing very strong against Amanda," Sollecito told CNN. "And in my case, I really did nothing wrong, and I don't want to pay for someone else's peculiar behavior."

On her Facebook page, Knox, who was sentenced to 28 years, acknowledges Sollecito's new attitude, saying he's a scapegoat.

"The only reason he has been dragged into this is because he happens to be my alibi," she posted.

Sollecito said Knox's behavior was odd on the morning Kercher was found dead in the apartment the two women shared.

Knox had spent the night with him but went back to her apartment to shower, he said. When she returned, she was "very agitated," Sollecito said in an interview with Italian television, parts of which were aired by NBC.

She said it seemed someone broken into the apartment and there was blood in the bathroom, Sollecito said. But she showered and returned to his apartment rather than call police.

"Certainly I asked her questions," he said. "Why did you take a shower? Why did she spend so much time there?"

An appeals court in Florence convicted Sollecito and Knox again in Kercher's murder. After their initial conviction in 2009, the sentence was overturned by an appeals court. Italy's supreme court reversed the acquittals and ordered a repetition of the appeals level trial.

Knox stayed in her hometown of Seattle during her second trial.

Another man, Rudy Guede from Ivory Coast, was tried and convicted separately in Kercher's death. He is serving 16 years in prison.