OMAHA, Neb. (AP) - The Nebraska Supreme Court has rejected a post-conviction appeal of a man who killed two Brazilian missionaries and their 7-year-old son over a money dispute in Omaha 10 years ago.
The high court on Friday upheld a lower court’s rejection without an evidentiary hearing of the post-conviction appeal of Jose Oliveira-Coutinho. Oliveira-Coutinho had argued some 50 claims in an effort to show his attorney was ineffective.
Oliveira-Coutinho was one of three Brazilian men charged with killing Vanderlei Szczepanik, his wife, Jacqueline, and their son, Christopher. Prosecutors said Oliveira-Coutinho and two others beat to death Szczepanik, who had hired the men for a renovation project, and hanged his wife and son before throwing their bodies in the Missouri River. Oliveira-Coutinho was convicted of three first-degree murder counts and sentenced to three life terms in prison.
Valdeir Goncalves-Santos was sentenced to 20 years in prison for his role. The third man was deported to Brazil before he could be charged.
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