Three Las Vegas killers lose appeals

Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2004 | 8:59 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- Three Las Vegas killers, two of them sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, lost their appeals to the Nevada Supreme Court on Tuesday.

The court rejected the latest petition from Raymond G. Phenix, sentenced to life without parole for the fatal stabbing of his wife Doreen, 43, in a casino parking lot in Las Vegas in November 1991.

This was the fifth appeal by Phenix that has reached the high court. In his latest petition, Phenix argued he discovered that the prosecution had deliberately concealed evidence that another man had pleaded guilty to a charge that he possessed a ring stolen from the purse of his wife.

Phenix suggested that may have changed the outcome of his trial. The Supreme Court said there was "no miscarriage of justice" in this case.

The court denied the petition of Juan Valenzuela, sentenced to life in prison without parole for the fatal shooting of James Paciolla on June 15, 1998. Valenzuela was trying to collect a debt from Paciolla for another person.

Valenzuela claimed his attorney at trial was ineffective in 11 instances and that his lawyer on appeal also was ineffective. The Supreme Court said it reviewed the record and rejected the claim. The court dismissed the petition of Daniel Corcoran, sentenced to life with the possibility of parole and a consecutive 4 to 10 years in 1997 for the fatal stabbing of Larry Davis Jr. and the wounding of Mike Batyske at a Las Vegas home.

It was Corcoran's third appeal to the Supreme Court, which said the claim had no merit.