Did Raffaele Sollecito PROPOSE to Amanda Knox in bid to get US citizenship and flee possible prison in Italy? Sollecito reportedly made the desperate plea last March, six years after they were both tried in Italian court for the 2007 murder of Knox's roommate Meredith Kercher It was a last ditch attempt to avoid serving more jail time in Italy, his ex-girlfriend, Kelsey Kay, claims The couple, who split years ago, are awaiting potential new convictions in a retrial of their case, after their previous murder convictions were overturned in 2011 While Knox plans to be a 'fugitive' and remain in the U.S. if re-convicted, Sollecito could face a lengthy prison term because he's an Italian citizen According to Kay, Knox, who is in another committed relationship, has declined the offer By Amanda Williams and Daily Mail Reporter Amanda Knox's former lover Raffaele Sollecito has reportedly asked her to marry him in a blatant attempt to flee to the United States. Sollecito made the desperate plea in March, six years after they were both tried in Italian court for the 2007 murder of Knox's roommate Meredith Kercher to avoid serving more jail time, his ex-girlfriend, Kelsey Kay, claimed this week. The couple, who split years ago, are awaiting potential new convictions in a retrial of their case in Italy, after their previous murder convictions were overturned in 2011. While Knox said she plans to be a 'fugitive' and remain in the U.S. if re-convicted, Sollecito could face a lengthy prison sentence because he's an Italian citizen. Desperate bid: Raffaele Sollecito, pictured outside Florence court, Italy, reportedly tried to marry Amanda Knox to flee possible jail time But Kay, told RadarOnline that he propositioned Knox and her lawyers in an attempt to become a U.S. citizen and dodge potential jail time. 'Raffaele told me that when he had been in Seattle in March, his lawyers and Amanda's lawyers had a meeting where he had proposed the idea of the two of them marrying,' Kay said. 'It would've been natural to the public that the two of them got married.' But she insisted it would have been purely a marriage of convenience. 'Raffaele proposed the idea to Amanda and her lawyers so that he could obtain citizenship in the United States and stay,' Kay claimed in the RadarOnline interview. She added that it was important for her that the public know the truth about what happened between Sollecito and Knox, who is in another committed relationship with classical guitarist James Terrano, 'And what had happened - according to him - is in the meeting, he had proposed marriage and that she had told him that she was seeing someone for the past few years and that (it) wasn't an option,' Kay said. Ex: His ex, Kelsey Kay, pictured, told RadarOnline that he propositioned Knox and her lawyers in an attempt to become a U.S. citizen and dodge potential jail time The news comes as an Italian court was urged to ensure Knox and Sollecito serve their sentences, if they are found guilty of the murder Kercher. Knox has stayed in Seattle while there is an Italian retrial for the murder of the Leeds University student, while Sollecito has been present in Italy. She and her ex-boyfriend are accused of stabbing Kercher, 21, to death and sexually assaulting her while the young women were studying abroad in Perugia, Italy, in 2007. Knox and her one-time lover served four years in jail for the murder of Kercher, who was found semi-naked with her throat slit in the flat she shared with Knox. Sollecito's father, Francesco Sollecito, said his son has no intention of escaping justice and that was evident in the fact that he had been present throughout the trial. Kercher's half-naked body was found beneath a blanket in her locked bedroom on November 2, 2007. His conviction specified that he did not carry it out alone.