The appeal of a man convicted of a murder that occurred almost five decades ago has been denied by a state court.

Richard Keiper, 68, of Boyd, Texas, was convicted on July 6, 2015, by a Monroe County jury in the October 1968 death of Alfred Barnes, a 40-year-old assistant to the vice president at steel producer Bethlehem Steel.Hunters found Barnes’ bullet-riddled body in a field near Effort, and his car later was recovered in New Jersey.After he was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, he appealed to the county court, which denied the appeal. Keiper then filed an appeal with the Superior Court of Pennsylvania.This week the state court issued a memorandum opinion denying Keiper’s appeal.By denying his appeal, the Superior Court affirmed the sentence entered by the trial court.With the denial, Keiper’s sentence of life in prison remains in effect. Keiper continues to be incarcerated at the state correctional facility in Fayette.The case was prosecuted by First Assistant District Attorney Michael Mancuso.Prosecutors said Keiper was arrested in September 2013 after confessing his involvement in Barnes’ death.Authorities said he gave two versions of what happened but said in both that he acted in self-defense when Barnes pulled a gun on him.Defense attorneys cited the lack of DNA evidence or witnesses and the loss of other evidence such as the bullets and shell casings.Keiper has a right to ask the Superior Court to review its decision or as the state’s Supreme Court to review the Superior Court’s decision.