A federal judge has denied a woman's request for authorization to pursue a further appeal of her conviction and sentence for murdering her husband at their Newton Falls home nearly eighteen years ago.

The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals this week denied a Certificate of Appealability for Claudia Hoerig who alleges legal flaws in her January 2019 aggravated murder conviction for the March 2007 shooting death of Air Force Major Karl Hoerig.

A certificate of appealability is a legal document that must be issued before someone may appeal an earlier denial in a case. The court found no merit in any of the dozen errors alleged by Hoerig in an appeal rejected by a federal judge last April.

Hoerig claimed among other errors ineffective assistance of legal counsel, prosecutorial misconduct, violation of the extradition treaty with Brazil, violation of her right to a speedy trial, violation of due process because of pretrial publicity, and failure to hold a change of venue hearing.

Investigators say Claudia Hoerig shot her husband three times and then covered his body with a tarp.

After emptying a bank account, authorities say Hoerig drove to the Pittsburgh airport and boarded a plane where she ultimately ended up in her native Brazil.

Following protracted negotiations with the Brazilian government, Hoerig was brought back to Trumbull County in January 2018 on the condition that she would not face the death penalty, which is unconstitutional in Brazil.

A year later Hoerig was found guilty of aggravated murder and was sentenced to life in prison with no eligibility for parole until 2044.