MARTIN COUNTY MURDER Murder Conviction Upheld In Martin County, Ky., Cold Case
Reported by: Associated Press
Web Producer: Tiersa Davis
Reported: Feb. 21, 2013 3:08 PM EST
Updated: Feb. 21, 2013 5:25 PM EST
Kentucky Department Of Corrections Photo
Louisville
, Kentucky
The Kentucky Supreme Court has upheld the murder conviction of an eastern Kentucky man in a case that went unsolved for eight years before an arrest.
The high court Thursday found no cause to grant Jimmy Cornette Jr., 30, a new trial in the 2002 death of Patrick Blackburn in Martin County.
In writing for the court, Justice Mary Noble wrote that there was no proof of pretrial publicity tainting potential jurors in the case nor any reason to delay the trial.
Cornette was convicted of killing Blackburn on June 23, 2002. Police said Cornette and two other men killed Blackburn over a drug debt. All three were arrested in 2010. They were sentenced to life in prison.
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