OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - The Oklahoma Court of Appeals on Thursday upheld the first-degree murder convictions and life in prison sentences of two men in separate cases from 2016.
The court rejected appeals by 36-year-old Keenan Holcomb, who was convicted in the June 2016 strangulation death of Tamyra Elston in Norman, and by 34-year-old Jeremy Irvin for the July 2016 fatal shooting of long-time friend and former brother-in-law Robert Godwin.
The defense attorney for the two men did not immediately return a phone call for comment.
Holcomb claimed improper testimony, insufficient evidence and ineffective counsel.
Irvin was arrested following a 13-hour standoff with police. In his appeal, he argued that the use of the standoff as evidence was improper, that Godwin’s past history of violence was improperly excluded and that he had ineffective assistance of counsel.
Jasmine Irvin, Jeremy Irvin’s sister and Godwin’s ex-wife, was also convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison in the case. Jasmine Irvin’s appeal was rejected by the court in September.
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