HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — A Connecticut court on Friday rejected the appeal of a former nurse who was convicted of killing and dismembering his college student girlfriend in 2013.
Three judges on the state Appellate Court upheld the murder conviction against Jermain Richards, who was sentenced to 60 years in prison in 2018 after a third trial. The first two trials ended with hung juries.
Prosecutors said Richards, now 37, of Bridgeport, killed 20-year-old Eastern Connecticut State University sophomore Alyssiah Marie Wiley as she tried to break off their relationship. Her partial remains were found about a mile and a half from Richards’ home.
Richards’ lawyers said there was no physical evidence in the case, nothing to show where or when Wiley was killed and no eyewitnesses.
The Appellate Court judges rejected Richards’ appeal claims that there was insufficient evidence to support a conviction and that the trial judge made a mistake by not giving the jury instructions about how to consider the credibility of a witness.
Wiley’s family and friends testified Richards was jealous, possessive and had been physically violent with her.
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