The Nevada Supreme Court has unanimously rejected to petition seeking to overturn the double-murder conviction of David Middleton.
Middleton was convicted of kidnapping and murdering two women — who were identified only as K. Powell and T. Davila — and sentenced to death.
His petition, filed by the federal public defender’s office in Las Vegas, filed a long list of claims charging that his trial counsel was ineffective, resulting in important evidence being left out of the trial and failed to object to repeated prosecutorial misconduct.
“He fails to demonstrate that any of the evidence would have undermined the conclusion that Powell was murdered and that Middleton was responsible for her murder.” The 26-page order said there was considerable evidence that the victim in question was “kidnapped, abused and later murdered.”
According to the six justices, Middleton kidnapped the two women and held them captive in a storage unit, later locking one of them in a modified refrigerator where she suffocated.
“Middleton fails to demonstrate that trial and appellate counsel performed deficiently or that he was prejudiced by trial counsel’s failure to investigate, object to, or challenge evidence or appellate counsel’s failure to raise certain arguments on appeal,” the order states.
The ruling states that Middleton also failed to provide any evidence to support his claim that he is actually innocent of murder.
Justice Lidia Stiglich did not participate in the case.