Court Affirms Life Sentences In Stabbing Deaths Of Two Tulsa Women

The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals has upheld the life sentences of a 48-year-old man convicted in the stabbing deaths of two Tulsa women.

Hilliard Fulgham, 38, was convicted by a Tulsa County jury in 2015 on two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of 45-year-old Linda Wright and 60-year-old Dorothy Lindley. The victims' bodies were discovered in their apartment on January 6, 2006.

4/10/2015 Related Story: Jury Returns Guilty Verdict In 2006 Tulsa Double Murder

Fulgham was linked to their deaths in June 2013 by DNA evidence cataloged by the Mississippi Department of Corrections, where Fulgham was serving a seven-year sentence for burglary. A national database matched his DNA to evidence recovered by Tulsa police at the scene of the stabbings.

Among other things, the appeals court rejected claims by Fulgham that his defense attorney was ineffective.

Fulgham is serving two life sentences without parole at a prison in Lawton.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.