Casey Frederiksen’s attorneys argue to overturn murder conviction

Attorneys for Casey Frederiksen, convicted last year of murdering his girlfriend's 5-year-old daughter and dumping her body in the Cedar River, argued Thursday morning before the Iowa Court of Appeals that the case was flawed.

The little girl, Evelyn Celeste Miller, disappeared from her rural Floyd home in 2005. Fredericksen was baby-sitting her at the time.

After several days of a massive search, her body was found in the Cedar River north of Charles City.

It took a decade of investigation for the case to go to trial. Prosecutors argued in a Floyd County courtroom that Frederiksen sexually assaulted Evelyn and then stabbed her to death.

It took a jury in March 2015 just five hours to convict him of first-degree murder. A judge later sentenced him to two life terms.

Defense attorneys argued at the time that another suspect was responsible for the girl's death and said there was no physical evidence connecting Frederiksen to the girl or her death.

His attorneys also said the trial court shouldn't have allowed evidence of previous child pornography charges against Frederiksen to go before the jury, and also asserted one of the witness' statements shouldn't have been considered.

They also argued the guilty verdict violated state law and was not supported by the evidence.

Days after the judge denied a defense motion for a new trial, an appeal was filed.

There was no indication of when the appeals court in Des Moines that heard arguments Thursday would rule.