Eric Koula appeals case to higher court

Koula was convicted of killing his parents in 2012

LA CROSSE, Wis. (WKBT) — The West Salem man convicted of killing his parents is appealing his case to a higher court.

Eric Koula is asking the state court of appeals to give him a new trial. He and his new attorneys believe his defense was ineffective.

On September 8, a La Crosse County judge denied Koula a retrial for the deaths of his parents, Dennis and Merna Koula, at their Barre Mills home in 2010. Koula is currently serving two consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole.

An attorney not affiliated with the case said last year, the state appeals court for our area only heard arguments for about 15-percent of all the cases presented to it.

“Last year the court of appeals allowed no oral argument in criminal cases, so it’s unlikely that they’re going to get one,” said Cheryl Gill, of Johns, Flaherty & Collins.

If the appeals court does take up the case, the attorney says on average it takes over a year for it to issue an opinion.