Appeals Court Upholds Life Sentence In Fatal Tulsa Stabbing

The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals has upheld the life prison sentence of a 54-year-old Tulsa man who was convicted in the fatal stabbing of a woman in 2014. 

The court handed down the ruling Wednesday in the case of Billy Clifford Brown Jr., who was convicted of first-degree murder by a Tulsa County jury in the October 13, 2014, stabbing death of 42-year-old Sukey Francis-Walters.

An affidavit says the woman suffered a stab wound to her upper chest. The Oklahoma Medical Examiner's Office matched the stab wound to a steak knife that was found with blood on it near Francis-Walters' body.

Brown alleged he was deprived of effective assistance of counsel during his trial and that prosecutors committed misconduct.

10/14/2014 Related Story: Tulsa Police Release Name Of City's Latest Homicide Victim

The Associated Press contributed to this report.