Indiana court won't hear murder conviction appeal

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - The Indiana Supreme Court has denied an appeal from a LaPorte man serving 40 years in prison for the 1993 murder of a teenager.

The court dismissed 41-year-old Jason Tibbs' requests to reconsider a Sept. 8 court of appeals refusal to toss out his 2014 conviction and order a new trial.

The (Northwest Indiana) Times reports (http://bit.ly/2gEPVrK ) that Rayna Rison's murder on March 26, 1993 went unsolved for 15 years before a new witness called cold-case investigators.

Trial evidence showed Tibbs choked Rison to death outside the veterinary hospital where she worked after she declined to rekindle their brief relationship. He dumped her weighted body in a pond where it was discovered a month later.

High Court Justice Robert Rucker was the lone vote in favor of appeal.

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Information from: The Times, http://www.nwitimes.com