AUSTIN -- The U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals denied Colton Pitonyak's request for a new trial on Wednesday.
Pitonyak is serving a 55-year sentence for the 2005 murder of Jennifer Cave inside his West Campus apartment.
Pitonyak's attorneys claimed prosecutors withheld crucial evidence during his 2007 trial. Defense attorneys say his friend and accomplice, Laura Hall, told other jail inmates she killed Cave.
Hall is serving a 10-year sentence for evidence tampering and hindering apprehension. Hall is convicted of helping Pitonyak dismember Cave's body before fleeing to Mexico.
