A recent ruling from the Virginia Court of Appeals has overturned the conviction of Terry Eugene Michel, who was previously found guilty of felony animal cruelty.

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Va. – The woman convicted in connection with the death of a Blacksburg girl in 2016 won’t see her appeal move forward in the Virginia Supreme Court. The court denied Natalie Keepers’ petition for appeal on Wednesday. In September 2018, a jury found Keepers guilty of being an accessory before the fact in the first-degree murder of Nicole Lovell. In April, Keepers and her legal team attempted an appeal on the grounds that her original trial was unfair. However, the Virginia Court of Appeals didn’t agree with Keepers and her legal team and it affirmed the conviction by the trial court.

BLACKSBURG, Va. – An appeals court upheld the conviction of Natalie Keepers by a lower court for her role in the murder of 13-year-old Nicole Lovell, according to court documents. Statements Keepers made to police were included in the original trial Two specific jurors were not removed despite the defense’s requestHowever, the Virginia Court of Appeals didn’t agree with Keepers and her legal team and it affirmed the conviction by the trial court. According to opinion notes in court documents, the appellate court stated that the trial court did not make a mistake in allowing statements Keepers made to police to be included and that there was no problem with the inclusion of the two jurors Keepers took issue with. Going forward, Keepers can ask to have the appeal heard by the entire Court of Appeals (en banc) or she can appeal the decision directly to the Virginia Supreme Court, according to Pettitt. Lovell’s family released the following statement in October when the appeals court agreed to review Keepers’ case:“This appeal is demeaning to Nicole Lovell and our family.