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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — An attorney for Douglas Lovell will ask Utah's Supreme Court on Tuesday to let the convicted killer withdraw a 1993 guilty plea.
Lovell's plea was for the 1985 murder of Joyce Yost, before she could testify against him in a kidnapping and rape trial.
In a deal with prosecutors, Lovell said he would lead police to Yost's buried body. In return prosecutors said they would not seek the death penalty.
Yost's body never was found, and Lovell pleaded guilty but says his attorney erroneously led him to believe he would still avoid a death sentence.
The Utah attorney general's office says Lovell was fully informed of his rights and that the plea agreement and sentence should stand.
This is Lovell's third direct appeal to the Utah Supreme Court.
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
