The United States Supreme Court has announced it will not hear the appeal of Claudia Hoerig, 61, who was convicted in 2019 of the shooting death of her husband, Air Force Major Karl Hoerig.

She had previously exhausted her state appeals, and now with the Supreme Court’s dismissal, Hoerig’s direct appeals have ended.

The court denied Hoerig’s petition for a writ of certiorari, letting the decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit stand. The appeals court had ruled Hoerig did not raise any valid constitutional issues in her recent appeal, which stated she acted in “sudden passion” during the 2007 shooting death of Major Hoerig at their Newton Falls home.

She also claimed in the appeal the prosecution, led by Trumbull County Prosecutor Dennis Watkins and Assistant Prosecutor Christopher Becker, did not present enough evidence to prove she committed aggravated murder. Watkins noted, however, that all courts in both the state and federal systems found unanimously that Hoerig received a fair trial and just sentence.

Claudia Hoerig was found guilty of aggravated murder by a Trumbull County jury in the courtroom of Judge Andrew D. Logan in January 2019.

Hoerig also claimed in her appeal that her constitutional rights were violated because of issues with her legal counsel, her extradition from Bazil and other trial errors, including charges of judicial misconduct.

For the Supreme Court to agree to hear the case, at least four of the nine justices must believe the case presents an important legal question that needs to be addressed. However, that did not occur.

After the guilty verdict, Logan sentenced Hoerig to a 28-year to life prison term, with her first chance at parole occurring in February 2044. Hoerig is incarcerated at the Dayton Correctional Institution.

The highly publicized trial followed an 11-year odyssey after Major Hoerig’s murder in which Claudia Hoerig fled the country to her native land of Brazil and Watkins led the effort, working closely with Karl’s brother Paul and the Hoerig family, to bring her back to face justice.

Watkins, the Hoerig family and many government leaders, including former Congressman Tim Ryan, turned to diplomacy through the U.S. State and Justice departments in convincing the government of Brazil to release Hoerig to Trumbull County officials. That happened in early 2018.

Brazil relented after learning that Claudia Hoerig was not eligible under Ohio law to receive the death penalty, that the state would not oppose parole upon serving 30 years and that Hoerig would receive credit for time served in jail in Brazil from April 20, 2016.

Evidence showed that in March 2007, Major Hoerig was shot three times from behind with the final shot a close range in the head, execution style, and his body was covered with a tarp in his home. Investigators identified his wife, Claudia Hoerig, as the suspect after she emptied a bank account, used her husband’s flight accommodations and fled to Brazil.