SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - The Latest on Utah Supreme Court hearing the appeal of a man convicted of killing a 7-year-old girl (all times local):
10:45 a.m.
The Utah Supreme Court is weighing an appeal from a Burmese refugee convicted in the death of a 7-year-old girl from his Utah neighborhood.
A lawyer for 29-year-old Esar Met argued Friday that his case was tainted by a police interpreter who badgered him into acknowledging a role in the girl’s death. While prosecutors acknowledged problems with the interpreter, they say the basic elements made it through the language barrier. The full interview wasn’t introduced at trial.
Authorities say he kidnapped, raped and killed victim Hser Ner Moo, also a refugee, and left her tiny body inside the South Salt Lake apartment he shared with four other Burmese men. Met had been in the U.S. just a month.
A jury found him guilty of child kidnapping and aggravated murder.
8 a.m.
A Burmese refugee serving a life prison sentence in the death of a 7-year-old girl from his Utah neighborhood is appealing his conviction to the Utah Supreme Court.
The justices will hear the case of 29-year-old Esar Met Friday in Salt Lake City.
Met has maintained his innocence in the 2008 death of Hser Ner Moo. His lawyers say police didn’t investigate a drop of blood that could have implicated his roommates. The state contends there is overwhelming evidence against Met, including DNA.
Authorities say he kidnapped, raped and killed the girl and left her tiny body inside the South Salt Lake apartment he shared with four other Burmese men. Met had been in the U.S. just a month.
A jury found him guilty of child kidnapping and aggravated murder.
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