A CLIFTON mum-of-three who was jailed for life for the murder of an uninvited guest at a party has lost an appeal against her conviction.
Kerry Holden, 36, of Farnborough Road, Clifton, was sentenced in March last year following her conviction by a jury at Nottingham Crown Court for the murder of Luke Moran.
The 25-year-old, of Southchurch Court, Clifton, died after she stabbed him in the heart with a kitchen knife after an argument at a house party.
Mr Moran was sat defenceless on his bike in the front garden of the house when Holden attacked him, leaving a fatal 10cm chest injury.
Holden has always denied responsibility and yesterday took her case to the Court of Appeal, where three top judges took just ten minutes to reject her case.
Lord Justice Treacy, sitting in London with Mr Justice MacDuff and Mr Justice Dingemans, said the jury's verdict was "unarguable".
The court heard Mr Moran was one of several people who turned up, uninvited, to a party at a property in Eucalyptus Avenue, Barton Green.
He got into an argument with Holden, who stabbed him outside. He was found bleeding by the side of a road by other party-goers.
Appealing, Holden argued that, due to drugs she was prescribed in prison, she was not in a fit state to follow or answer questions in cross-examination at her trial.
But, giving judgment, Lord Justice Treacy said a doctor had looked into Holden's claims and had produced a report for the court to consider.
In it, the doctor said anti-depressant medication Holden had been on was unlikely to have harmed her ability to give the best evidence she could.
"On the basis of that report, there is no ground for any tenable argument that this appellant was so disadvantaged by the effects of her medication that she couldn't give evidence properly," said the judge.
"Nor is there any other material relating to the appellant's state of mind that could advance her case in the way sought in the grounds of appeal. Accordingly, there is no basis for taking this matter further. This application must fail and it is dismissed."
Holden must serve a minimum of 18 years behind bars before she will eligible to apply for release on licence.
