. >> reporter: amanda chose to study in perugia, italy, a small town in the center of the country.ate summer of 2007, amanda and her sister, deana, traveled there to get her settled. on the very first day in town, deana found amanda a place to live. >> we were walking around, and the first thing amanda did, of course, was go down to her university. we walk down there, and she went inside, and i sat outside. this girl came up and was posting something on the fence right next to where i was sitting. i looked over, and it said all i could read because i don't speak italian was apartmento. >> and that was the apartment? >> that was it. >> narrator: once settled in perugia, amanda seemed to be living her dream. >> the first set of pictures she ever sent me were of the little house that she had found, and i was kind of looking at her going you have that kind of a view out of your backyard? it was really, you know -- i was very happy for her. >> reporter: and just eight days before meredith's murder, amanda met a boy. an italian student named rafaelle sollecito. was she falling in love? d

phil black is in perugia, italy, with the latest on today's testimony. phil? >> reporter: yeah, fredricka, five men convicted of serious crimes were called before the court in perugia today. called by amanda knox's defense team to try and help prove her innocence in killing british student meredith kercher in 2007. the first man to give evidence today was a 50-year-old serving a life sentence for the murder and kidnapping of an 18-month-old boy. he was called to give evidence because he says during his time in prison, he became friends with rudy guede. he is also convicted of meredith kercher's killing. and this man insists that guede told him neither amanda knox or her then boyfriend had anything to do with kercher's murder. several other prison inmates were called to try and support that story. and then the final witnesses of the day, yet another prison inmate, told a completely different story altogether. this was a man who was serving 16 years for mafia-related crimes. he says his own brother, and another man, were responsible for killing meredith kercher.

it was 2009 when the seattle-raised student, living in the tiny italian village of perugia, was found guilty, along with her former boyfriend, of killing her roommate meredith kercher after a wild night of alleged drugs and sex. she fought the charges, her family arguing that rumors in the italian press about her sex life had tainted the jury, that there was no evidence linking their daughter to the scene of meredith's death. nowhere in meredith's room, where the murder took place and where meredith's body was found, is there a single fingerprint from amanda, a single piece of dna from amanda, a hair. >> nothing. >> nothing. >> absolutely nothing. >> reporter: knox has already spent nearly four years in prison. >> i am definitely more hopeful that, when this is all over, that here in septptber, that she will be coming home with us. absolutely. >> reporter: the experts findings will be considered in court next month, late july, with amanda knox once again making the case that she is innocent. then, september, george, is when the court is expected to make a ruling. they may overturn her

rebecca over to you. >> loni, thank you. >>> in perugia, italy, five witnesses are about to speak outmanda knox, the american who is in prison for killing her roommate, but these witnesses, there are some who question their reliability and cbs news correspondent charlie d'agata is in london with the latest. >> good morning to you. plenty of courtroom drama this morning, five serving inmates could provide crucial inside information about the case. the prosecutors are doing everything they can to say look these witnesses are hardened criminals who can't be trusted. amanda knox looked composed and dressed conservatively as she made the familiar journey into the italian courtroom from the prison cell that's been her home for the past three yaf years. the new witnesses say she and former boyfriend raffaele sollecito are innocent of the murder of meredith kercher. a third has also been convicted of the murder. a third convicted child killer mario alessie. a fellow inmet who said rudy guede told him his friend killed kercher. >> we're hoping more truth comes out that these stories about rudy

i want to start with dan rivers in perugia, italy. >> a day of dramatic testimony here in perugia, italyriend raffaele sollecito. rudy guede, the co-accused was called to give evidence. they were hoping he would be tripped up in cross examination and would admit that it was he and he alone who murdered the british student meredith kercher in november 2007. in the end, exact opposite happened. for the first time, he said he explicitly thought that knox and sollecito were guilty of the murder, something he had only implied in testimony previously. there was also a dramatic moment when amanda knox herself made a statement to the court during the statement she said she was shocked by guede's evidence. she said he knew that we weren't in the house on the night of the murder. she said she didn't know what really happened, and she said she was sorry that she couldn't talk to guede direct to question him about the events. as well as her statement, raffaele sollecito spoke to the court and said that before guede had only mentioned a shadow he thought may have been amanda knox in the house that ev

she is in perugia, italy, this morning. thanks for joining us, ms. mellas.now this is the break you were waiting for. what can you tell us about amanda's reaction about the news? >> we talked to the priest at the jail, at the prison who was there when she heard the news on the tv actually. and he said when we talked to him later that she was, you know, the prisoners were hugging her. there was singing going on. and he expressed that he could see the light come back on in her eyes. and that he could see her finally breathe after 3 1/2 years. >> did you let yourself believe when you heard it, thahaamanda would be coming home? >> well, you know, we still don't -- i mean, you know, it's getting closer to her coming home. but we still haven't even taken that step. we believe this is a huge step in the right direction. but until she walks out of that prison, that's when we can really celebrate. >> as you knknow, lawyers for ms. kercher and prosecutors are still saying that their own experts say the dna evidence will hold up and there's plenty of other evidence to

>> all right, chapman bell in perugia, italy. thanks.to criminal attorney paul callen. whether in an american court or italian court i've got to think a convicted criminal testifying on your behalf cuts both ways. >> it does. this is very promising for amanda knox but on the other hand these are criminals and they're trying to trade a reduction in prison sentence for testimony that will help her. >> but in the totality of an appeals case can it help her to the extent you've got scientific evidence that's starting to come into question? >> it does. it knocks another important block out of the prosecutor's case. and you know, i think what we've seen in this case, the dna evidence, which, of course, was critical, now looks very suspicious. italian prosecutors and the judge appointed independent experts to examine this dna evidence. dna on a knife handle. dna on the knife itself. as well as dna on a bra clasp. those italian independent experts seem to be indicating now that it's unreliable evidence. >> because that was the evidence that real

nbc's martin fletcher is in perug perugia, italy, this morning with details. hoping for a big break this morning that didn't turn out that way. looking very nervous, more than three years in jail after 23 more to go, amanda knox entered the courtroom today hoping that last week's surprise testimony from a child killer could help set her free. but it didn't. today speaking in knox's appeal for the first time, rudy guede convicted with knox for the roommate of her american roommate provided no help. last week another prisoner mario alessi testified in court guede told him amanda was not present at the time of the killing. light at the end of the tunnel for amanda's family. >> it's huge. it would be the single biggest thing in the case. >> reporter: but today rudy guede said it wasn't true, that he didn't tell alessi anything, that alessi had lied. but why would he lie? da guede's lawyer put it down today to simple gossip. >> there is many, many, many people that know the mystery of every case. >> reporter: it may not be that simple. two other prison inmates also

we're committed to covering the case all the way over there in perugia, italy. so much. >>> he is accused of ordering the murders of hundreds and hundreds of people, and blood continues to spill in the streets. after several weeks, syria's president bashir al assad shows his face and has a message for the protesters. and find out who he's blaming for the killings. with honey nut cheerios cereal. kissed with real honey. and the 100% natural whole grain oats can help lower your cholesterol. you are so sweet to me. bee happy. bee healthy. but sometimes i wonder... what's left behind? [ female announcer ] new purifying facial cleanser from neutrogena naturals. removes 99% of dirt and toxins without dyes, parabens, or harsh sulfates. so skin feels pure and healthy. [ female announcer ] new from neutrogena naturals. >>> globe trekking now, turning our attention overseas. want to talk about syria. that's where thousands of people, possibly hundreds more have reportedly died in the streets in public spaces in the last few months. people either rising up against the gove