If I was Eli, I would be trying to come up with ways to defect to the Salvatores too. She has the fact that she warned them about the burning carriage on her side, and she's still a child herself-- at one point, it was shown that she was afraid of the abuse transferring to her, which is very compelling. Another piece of collateral, she can serve as a clutch witness in this noble trial (although I think the Salvatores will still win without her testimony). This is probably the best window she has for blaming everything on her parents.