Court of Criminal Appeals affirms life sentence in family murders

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) – The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals has affirmed the life prison sentences of a man convicted of shooting his father and younger brother to death.

The court handed down the decision Thursday to 23-year-old Thorsten Rushing. In 2016 he was found guilty by a Comanche County jury of two counts of first-degree murder in the 2014 slayings of his father, 50-year-old Uwe Rushing, and his 14-year-old brother, Stefan.

Prosecutors alleged that Rushing shot his father in the chest and head before shooting his younger brother in the head. The appeals court opinion says Rushing, a senior at Lawton High School at the time, had previously told schoolmates he wanted to kill his father and collect the insurance money.

Rushing’s attorney, James Lockard, didn’t immediately return a telephone call seeking comment.