Court: Inmate's death ends murder appeal

PITTSBURGH (AP) — The family of a western Pennsylvania man killed in state prison last month can’t continue his appeal of his conviction in the 1998 murders of his ex-wife and her boyfriend, a federal appeals court has ruled.

William Keitel died Aug. 11 after he was beaten earlier in the month in the State Correctional Institution-Houtzdale, state police said.

Keitel, 59, had a federal appeal of his Allegheny County conviction pending in the murders of 35-year-old Michele Keitel and 34-year-old Charles Dunkle during a child custody exchange at a convenience store on New Year’s Day in 1998.