By Associated Press - Friday, May 30, 2014

MASON CITY, Iowa (AP) - A Cerro Gordo County district judge has denied a request for freedom from a Mason City man convicted in the hatchet death of his mother.

The Globe Gazette reports (https://bit.ly/1wyHoYd ) that Judge DeDra Schroeder on Wednesday denied 29-year-old Jordon Johnson’s request for post-conviction relief.

Johnson is serving life for first-degree murder for killing his mother, Rita Sealy, by hitting her several times with a hatchet on Jan. 19, 2008. Johnson was also found guilty of second-degree kidnapping for locking his stepfather, Phil Sealy, in the basement.



The judge dismissed Johnson’s claims that his trial attorneys were ineffective.

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Information from: Globe Gazette, https://www.globegazette.com/

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