Man Condemned for Drowning Woman Loses Appeal

HOUSTON (AP) — A man sent to death row for torturing and drowning a Tyler woman before cramming her body in a barrel has lost a federal court appeal. Troy James Clark argued to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that his legal help was deficient during his trial in 2000, two years after Christina Muse, who briefly lived with him, was killed. The New Orleans-based 5th Circuit rejected the claims Monday.

Authorities believe Clark is responsible for at least two other killings, including a man found in a septic tank and a Houston drug dealer. Evidence showed Muse was tortured with a stun gun, beaten with a board, bound with duct tape and drowned. Her body was encased in a drum filled with cement and lime.