October 02, 2017 - 8:59 AM
CAMDEN, N.J. - A New Jersey appellate court won't grant a new trial to a man convicted of killing a 6-year-old boy who was trying to save his 12-year-old sister from being sexually assaulted.
Osvaldo Rivera is serving a 110-year sentence for the September 2012 killing of Dominick Andujar and the sex assault. Authorities have said Rivera broke into a Camden home and repeatedly assaulted and slashed the girl with a butcher knife.
Rivera argued that the trial judge didn't instruct jurors that they could find him guilty of lesser charges. His attorney had asked jurors to consider aggravated manslaughter because her client was intoxicated at the time of the killing.
Judges dismissed Rivera's appeal Friday. They said a defendant can't request an action at trial and later disagree if the outcome was unfavourable.
News from © The Associated Press, 2017