Bismarck Homicide Convict Loses State Supreme Court Appeal

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — North Dakota's Supreme Court has rejected the appeal of one of two men accused of conspiring to murder a South Dakota man in North Dakota.

The Bismarck Tribune reports justices ruled there was enough evidence to support the guilty verdict against Joshua Clark.

Clark is serving life in prison for his role in the spring 2013 killing of 18-year-old John Swain, who had moved to Bismarck from Sioux Falls, South Dakota, in search of work. Clark's co-defendant, Theo Crowe, also is serving life behind bars.

Authorities say Clark and Crowe lured Swain into a Bismarck home, hit him with a hammer, cut off his legs and buried the body in Montana.

Clark's attorney had argued there was no evidence Clark and Crow plotted a murder. Justices rejected that argument.