Appeals court upholds Plunkett conviction

Missouri's court of appeals in Kansas City today upheld Sandra Plunkett's first-degree murder and armed criminal convictions.

In a 17-page opinion written by Judge Cynthia L. Martin, the appeals court's three-judge panel rejected Plunkett's arguments that Callaway County Circuit Judge Gary Oxenhandler made mistakes when he refused to let her submit a self-defense instruction to the jury and when he allowed financial records to be included in the state's evidence.

A jury deliberated less than three hours on Jan. 10, 2014, before convicting Plunkett, now 41, of killing her husband - former Jefferson City police officer Paul Plunkett - on New Year's Day 2011.