Crime

Court upholds conviction of Bellingham man who killed stepdaughter

Associated Press
Clark Richard Elmore
Clark Richard Elmore, left, talks with his lawyer, Whatcom County Public Defender Jon Komorowski, right, and Public Defender's investigator Michael Sparks, center, on March 12, 1996, before being sentenced to death for the murder of his girlfriend's daughter Kristy Lynn Ohnstad, 14, in Bellingham. THE BELLINGHAM HERALD

A federal appeals court has upheld the conviction and death sentence of a Bellingham man who raped and killed his stepdaughter in 1995.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals confirmed Clark Richard Elmore's conviction on Wednesday. He was convicted of killing 14-year-old Kristy Ohnstad after she accused Elmore of molesting her as a child.

The appeals court rejected Elmore's claims that his constitutional rights were violated during the trial. Since Gov. Jay Inslee suspended the death penalty in Washington state last year, Elmore effectively is now serving a life sentence. He's been on death row since 1996.

This story was originally published April 1, 2015 at 1:46 PM with the headline "Court upholds conviction of Bellingham man who killed stepdaughter."

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