Amanda Knox's ex-boyfriend 'was offered deal' "What I did not know at the time because they preferred not to fill me in, was that (my family was) exploring what it would take to soften or drop the case against me," he writes in the book. The advice they received was almost unanimous - the more I distanced myself from Amanda, the better. The bottom line - Mignini, they were told, was not at all that interested in me except as a gateway to Amanda. He might indeed be willing to acknowledge that I was entirely innocent, but only if I gave him something in exchange, either by incriminating Amanda directly or by no longer vouching for her. His family was told by a lawyer in Perugia that if Mr Sollecito admitted to a minor role in the crime he would get a sentence of six to 12 years. Taking into consideration the fact that he had already been in prison for a considerable time, since being arrested a few days after Miss Kercher's murder, and that he had no previous convictions, he could count on the sentence being suspended. Mr Sollecito, now 28, said that when Giulia Bongiorno, his defence lawyer, heard of the alleged negotiations she was horrified and threatened to quit the case. He and his family dismissed any idea of collaborating with the prosecution and he continued to maintain his innocence. Mr Mignini on Tuesday denied "categorically" that he had ever sought to negotiate a secret deal with Mr Sollecito or his family. Miss Knox is writing her own account of the murder case, with her book due to be published next year.