Conviction upheld for man who attacked wife with hatchet

The Wyoming Supreme Court has upheld the conviction of a man who was sentenced to 30 years in prison for attempting to kill his wife with a hatchet in 2015.

The Riverton Ranger reports Terry Schmuck was sentenced for attempted second-degree murder last year and appealed to the state’s highest court, claiming the jury in his case was given improper instructions.

In Schmuck’s appeal, his attorneys relied on precedent set in February when the State Supreme Court overturned a murder conviction over jury instruction disputes.

The Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that Schmuck’s verdict would have unlikely been altered if the jury instructions had followed the precedent.

Prosecutors say Schmuck went to his wife’s home and struck her on the head with a hatchet. She survived the attack.