Court upholds conviction, sentence in Indiana prof's killing

GOSHEN, Ind. (AP) - The Indiana Court of Appeals has upheld a northern Indiana man's conviction in the fatal stabbing of a college professor and the wounding of professor's wife during a 2011 home invasion.

The appeals court on Wednesday affirmed Winston Corbett's conviction and his 115-year sentence, finding that his rights were not violated in the 2018 investigation into the case, which had gone unsolved for years, The Elkhart Truth reported.

Corbett was 16 in October 2011 when prosecutors said he fatally stabbed James Miller. The 58-year-old Goshen College biology professor had gone to the aid of his wife, Linda, who was stabbed 23 times but survived the late-night attack at their home in Goshen.

Corbett was formally charged in November 2018 based on DNA found at the scene. An Elkhart County jury convicted him of murder and attempted murder last year and he was sentenced to 115 years in prison.

Corbett argued in part in his appeal that officers' evidence collection at his home was unconstitutional and that other evidence in a police affidavit for his arrest was unsupported hearsay.

But the appeals court found that his constitutional rights were not violated by investigators' actions and that the search warrant was supported by probable cause.

Corbett also argued in his appeal that his 115-year sentence was too harsh and should be reduced based in part on his young age in 2011 and his lack of criminal history.

The appeals court found that his sentence was supported by the crime's brutal nature.