A convicted killer serving a life sentence has had his request for a new trial denied.
Attorneys for 43-year-old Jonathan Leibzeit argue the original judge erred during jury instructions and that Leibzeit was deprived of his due process right to be present when an answer to a jury question was given.
They also argue his trial lawyer was ineffective.
Leibzeit and two other men were accused of beating Alex Schaefer with a bat, drowning him, then hiding his body in a drainage tunnel.
The appeals court rejected all of his arguments.
