Convicted murderer has one more chance for new trial

Koula, who was found guilty of
killing his parents, can go to Supreme Court

He can still ask the Wisconsin Supreme Court for a new trial, but for now, convicted murderer Eric Koula has been turned down by an appeals court.

Koula is serving a life sentence, after a jury found him guilty of killing his parents to get money that would help him pay large debts resulting from trading stocks on the internet.

In a 14-page ruling, appeals judges rejected Koula’s claim that the real controversy surrounding the deaths of his parents was not fully tried.

Defense attorneys argued that a hit man was hired to shoot a neighbor of Dennis and Merna Koula, but mistakenly went to their house instead, after doing a Google map search.

La Crosse District Attorney Tim Gruenke recalls that the Google defense didn’t get too far at trial.