The man who murdered Auckland hairdresser Marie Jamieson in 2001 has lost his appeal for a lighter sentence.
Joseph Martin Reekers was last year sentenced to life in prison with a minimum non-parole period of 15 years for killing Ms Jamieson.
Reekers' lawyer, Howard Lawry, argued in the Court of Appeal that the sentencing judge had given too much weight to a 1978 conviction for raping a young woman at knifepoint, given the length of time that had passed since then.
He further argued that the judge had placed too much emphasis on the fact that Reekers had stabbed or slit Ms Jamieson's throat, when this had never been proven in court.
However, Justices Graham Lang, Ellen France and Paul Heath dismissed the appeal.
