(WKBN) — An Ohio appeals court has dismissed an appeal for a man convicted in the 2015 murder of an elderly Niles woman.

Jacob LaRosa was trying to appeal a decision made in 2022 by Judge W. Wyatt McKay, who ruled that LaRosa was not entitled to a hearing on whether or not his constitutional rights were violated during his trial.

He had appealed to both the 11th District and Ohio Supreme Courts, which had ruled against him. Then, he filed a petition with McKay, claiming he had received ineffective counsel.

In 2018, LaRosa was sentenced in the 2015 beating death and attempted rape of 94-year-old Marie Belcastro, of Niles. He was 15 years old at the time and was prosecuted as an adult.

LaRosa is currently serving life in prison.