Markhasev in court last July

February 4, 1999
Web posted at: 8:19 p.m. EST (0119 GMT)

LOS ANGELES (CNN) -- A judge Thursday refused to dismiss the conviction of Michael Markhasev in the killing of Ennis Cosby, the son of entertainer Bill Cosby.

The petition filed by Markhasev's attorneys asked Superior Court Judge David Perez to dismiss the conviction because of the questionable authenticity of incriminating jailhouse letters that prosecutors said Markhasev wrote and were presented at trial.

During the trial, defense attorneys said the letters were the work of a Los Angeles inmate who was a convicted forger.

Ennis Cosby

In his ruling, the judge said that even if "the jailhouse (letters) were not written by (Markhasev), this still does not point to the innocence of (Markhasev)."

Perez also said the authenticity of the letters was argued by Markhasev's attorneys during the trial and there was substantial evidence independent of the jailhouse letters to support the jury's verdict.

Markhasev is serving a life sentence at Corcoran State Prison in California.

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