Court Upholds Conviction

Thomas Maupin’s conviction and sentence for the January 1988 abduction and murder of a 6-year-old Spokane girl were upheld Thursday by the Washington Court of Appeals.

The Division III appeals court rejected Maupin’s contentions that his 40-year sentence was excessive, that the trial amounted to double jeopardy and that there was insufficient evidence to support the conviction.

The appeals court unanimously held that the sentence imposed by Spokane County Superior Court Judge Marcus Kelly in February 1993 was appropriate because the victim, Tricna Cloy, was “particularly vulnerable.”

Maupin, 45, stood trial twice for the same crimes. He was convicted of first-degree murder each time.

The first conviction was overturned in 1992 when the appeals court ruled the jury’s verdict was flawed.