Caroline Coyne murder: Carl Powell appeal dismissed
A man who was jailed for murdering a Nottingham woman and sexually assaulting another has failed in a bid to appeal against his conviction.
Carl Powell, 25, killed mother-of-two Caroline Coyne in July, 2011, and attacked a second woman a month later.
Shaun Smith QC argued at the Court of Appeal that having the two cases tried together created overwhelming prejudice and resulted in an unfair trial.
However, the appeal was dismissed by three senior judges.
Lord Justice Jackson concluded the trial judge was right not to separate the two sets of charges, which bore a number of similarities.
Ms Coyne, 28, was on her way home from a birthday party in Daybrook when she was sexually assaulted and then murdered by Powell.
Her body was found on a pathway in Thorneywood Mount. A pathologist said she had died from head injuries.
A month later Powell grabbed a 21-year-old around the neck and dragged her into the grounds of a college in Carlton Road.
Powell was sentenced to 20 years in prison in October 2012.