Oklahoma court upholds conviction in Arkansas woman’s death

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) – The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals has upheld the murder conviction and life without parole sentence of a man in the death of an Arkansas woman in eastern Oklahoma.
The court on Thursday rejected appeals by 30-year-old Elvis Aaron Thacker of Cedarville, Arkansas, in the September 2010 death of 22-year-old Briana Ault of Fort Smith.
The justices turned away appeals that included Thacker’s claim that his confession was coerced and that there was insufficient evidence to convict him.
Thacker was convicted and his brother, Johnathen Thacker pleaded guilty to luring Ault with the promise of $50 for a ride. Prosecutors say Ault was then forced to drive to a rural area in LeFlore County where the brothers raped her and attempted to drown her before Elvis Thacker cut her throat.