A federal magistrate has denied a convicted murderer's appeal on the grounds that DNA evidence from a dead deer shouldn't have been allowed at trial.
Lawrence Cseripko had challenged Fayette County prosecutors' use of deer DNA and several other issues in an appeal filed in April. U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert Mitchell on Monday rejected all Mr. Cseripko's appeals.
Authorities say Mr. Cseripko fatally shot Paul Horvat Jr. in the back shortly after the victim had killed a deer in December 1997. DNA testing later matched the entrails found near Mr. Horvat's body to venison that investigators recovered in Mr. Cseripko's freezer.
Officials say the men had a run-in during the previous year's hunting season and a witness testified that Mr. Cseripko had said he would kill Mr. Horvat if he ever saw him again.
First Published: June 28, 2011, 2:00 p.m.