HOUSTON (AP) _ A Waco college student sent to death row for fatally shooting and robbing a fellow student nine years ago outside Bryan has lost an appeal at the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, moving him a step closer to execution.
Marcus Druery was condemned for killing 20-year-old Skyyler Browne on Halloween 2002. The now 31-year-old Druery and Browne both attended Texas State Technical College in Waco.
They were among a group partying in Bryan and wound up at property belonging to Druery’s family in rural Brazos County.
Testimony at Druery’s 2003 trial showed Browne was shot three times by Druery, who burned the victim’s body and dumped it in a stock pond.
Druery’s attorneys argued unsuccessfully in his appeal that his trial lawyers were deficient and jury instructions were faulty.
(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
