Appeals Court upholds convictions in two murder cases

James Rex Clark, Sonia Weidenfelder, and Richard Patrick Spaulding.

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) – The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals has upheld convictions in two murder cases, including that of a man convicted of killing his adopted 7-year-old son who was also his nephew.

The court on Thursday rejected the appeal of 69-year-old James Rex Clark of Seminole. The child, Colton Clark, hasn’t been seen since 2006.

The court also upheld the convictions of 46-year-old Richard Patrick Spaulding and 37-year-old Sonia Weidenfelder in the 2016 fatal shooting of 39-year-old Debra Lynn Morgan in Broken Arrow during a child custody dispute between Spaulding and Morgan.

Also upheld was the life without parole sentence of 49-year-old Renese Bramlett of Tulsa in the 2015 strangulation death of Michelle Spence. Spence’s body was found by her 11- and 14-year-old sons. Bramlett’s conviction was previously upheld.