The Iowa Court of Appeals has denied a Buchanan County man’s request for a review of his first-degree murder conviction. Lynn Lamasters of Jesup was convicted in April of 2005 in the strangulation death of his live-in girlfriend Patricia Rapacki.
Rapacki’s body had been found in the freezer of her home. Lamasters was sentenced to life without parole. He appealed his conviction, and one of the issues he raised was that his attorney was ineffective for failing to try a defense of temporary insanity or diminished capacity.
The Iowa Court of Appeals turned down Lamasters’ appeal based on a procedural issue. The opinion says the district court dismissed his appeal claims in a general denial, and Lamasters did not ask for a broader opinion from the lower court. The Appeals Court said it cannot act on the broader appeal since it was not requested from the lower court, and the district court’s ruling stands.