The State Supreme Court has upheld a murder conviction for a man found guilty of murdering his father in 2019 but has ordered that he must be re-sentenced.

Christopher Alan Vickerman had argued that the conviction should be overturned because hearsay evidence was admitted. The victim had told several friends before he was murdered that he was afraid his son would harm him. The Supreme Court ruled that Judge Doug Mattson was correct to allow their hearsay evidence about the victim’s fears and his state of mind in the weeks before his murder because it showed the defendant had a motive for the crime.

The Supreme Court also ruled that there was enough evidence submitted at trial to support the guilty verdict against Vickerman.

Mattson originally sentenced Vickerman to 100 years in prison, with 20 years suspended. The Supreme Court ruled that this sentence is improper and Mattson must re-sentence him and include a calculation of Vickerman’s remaining life expectancy using the mandated mortality table when he imposes the new sentence.