NH man appeals conviction in fatal machete attack

Published November 17, 2014

A New Hampshire man who is serving life in prison for killing a woman with a machete and maiming her 11-year-old daughter has appealed his conviction.

Attorneys for Steven Spader cited a variety of rulings that they say were improper and merit a new trial. Among them: the judge refusing to change the location of the trial amid extensive publicity and allowing evidence that Spader talked about wanting to eat his victims.

The 19-year-old Spader was sentenced last month in the October 2009 attack on 42-year-old Kimberly Cates and her daughter in their Mont Vernon home. A second man has admitted his involvement and is planning to use an insanity defense in his trial, scheduled for February.

Three others have pleaded guilty to lesser charges.

(This version CORRECTS that Spader is 19, not 18. He was convicted and sentenced on his birthday.)

URL

https://www.foxnews.com/us/nh-man-appeals-conviction-in-fatal-machete-attack