BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - A state appeals court has affirmed the second-degree murder conviction and life sentence for a Louisiana man in the 2015 stabbing and strangulation of his girlfriend's convicted molester.

Jace Crehan argued that he was only guilty of manslaughter because he only initially intended to scare Robert Noce Jr. in 2015. Noce was found dead less than two weeks after he pleaded no contest to carnal knowledge of Crehan's girlfriend, Brittany Monk. 

The Advocate reports a three-judge appeals panel on Monday noted that the jury had rejected the now 24-year-old Crehan's assertion that he was "forced" to kill Noce because of a "failure of the judicial system." Monk was 17 and pregnant when she and Crehan broke into Noce's trailer. She's appealing her 35-year sentence, arguing it's excessive.