HARTFORD, Conn. —
The Connecticut Supreme Court upheld the conviction of Jermaine Richards, who was convicted of the murder of Alyssiah Marie Wiley three years ago.
In 2013, Wiley disappeared from the Willimantic campus of Eastern Connecticut State University. Her dismembered body was found in Trumbull nearly a month later.
Wiley was a West Haven resident and student at ECSU at the time of her death.
Richards was tried three times for Wiley’s murder. The first two trials ended in mistrials, deadlocked with hung juries. He was convicted and sentenced following his third trial.
Richards is currently serving a 60-year sentence in the MacDougall-Walker Correctional in Suffield.
Richards appealed the conviction, and the case was taken to the Appellate Court. The Appellate Court uphold the original guilty verdict, and Richards then appealed to the State Supreme Court.
In his appeal, Richards contended that the jury lacked sufficient evidence to find him guilty of murder. Specifically, he argues that the state failed to prove the manner, means, place, cause, and time of death, and that the inferences the jury apparently drew from the evidence were unreasonable because the state failed to prove any criminal acts committed by the defendant or that he intended to commit such acts.
The State Supreme Court upheld the ruling as well, finding the Appellate Court’s conclusion correct, that there was sufficient evidence at Richards’s trial to support the murder conviction.
As of now, Richards is set to be released on May 17, 2073.
When asked his response to the court’s decision, his attorney, Norm Pattis, told FOX61 today: "We are disheartened and will seek review in the United States Supreme Court."
HERE ARE MORE WAYS TO GET FOX61 NEWS
Download the FOX61 News APP
iTunes: Click here to download
Google Play: Click here to download
Stream Live on ROKU: Add the channel from the ROKU store or by searching FOX61.
