Appeals court upholds murder convictions

OKLAHOMA CITY —

The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals has upheld the murder convictions and life in prison sentences of an Oklahoma City man in the deaths of two people in Spencer.

The court on Monday rejected the appeals of 27-year-old Brian Madden that included ineffective counsel, improper testimony and that his sentences are excessive.

Madden was convicted of the July 2008 shooting deaths of 33-year-old Kristian Bruner and 29-year-old Shalese Frazier. Madden was sentenced to life in prison for each conviction with the sentences to run consecutively — or one after the other.

The victims were found dead inside a vehicle in Spencer on July 4, 2008, with each suffering gunshot wounds to the head.

Copyright The Associated Press