Appeals court upholds conviction in parent-killing case

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin’s 4th District Court of Appeals has upheld the conviction of a former West Salem man serving two life sentences for the deaths of his parents.

The court on Thursday rejected the appeal of Eric Koula, who was convicted in the 2010 shooting deaths of his parents. The appeals court says none of the issues Koula raised on appeal had merit.

Koula argued his attorney was ineffective and the court made errors in accepting and rejecting certain evidence during the 2012 trial.

Prosecutors say Koula shot his parents, Dennis and Merna Koula, in their Barre home so he could claim a substantial inheritance. They argue he needed the money because he was deeply in debt, had a failing day-trading career and his parents had threatened to cut him off.