PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) - A Providence man serving a life sentence for kidnapping and killing a Boston woman is now asking the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn his conviction.
Louis Coleman's attorney, Federal Public Defender Christine DeMaso, filed a petition for a writ of certiorari Thursday, asking the nation's highest court to review the case.
The U.S. Supreme Court receives thousands of requests to hear a case on appeal every year, but grants only a small percentage. The court typically hears roughly 70-80 cases annually.
A jury found Coleman guilty of kidnapping resulting in death following a 15-day trial in June 2022. Prosecutors said he lured Jassy Correia into his car outside the Boston nightclub Venu, then sexually assaulted her and strangled her to death.
Correia's body was later found inside a suitcase in the trunk of Coleman's car when he was pulled over by police in Delaware, days after she was killed.
In July, the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston denied a series of legal arguments by Coleman and upheld his mandatory life sentence. Coleman, now 39, is being held at the federal maximum security prison in Terre Haute, Ind., according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons website.
At the heart of the Supreme Court petition is a challenge to how federal courts have interpreted the kidnapping statute. DeMaso contends the courts below got it wrong by misapplying an 80-year-old precedent.
DeMaso argues that the 12 minutes Coleman held Correia in his car, during which prosecutors say he sexually assaulted and killed her, does not legally qualify as "kidnapping" under the federal statute.
During his trial, Coleman did not dispute killing Correia, and claimed the sex was consensual. His attorneys argued Correia suddenly became violent and died during a struggle.
Prosecutors said Coleman intercepted a drunk Correia, who was out celebrating her upcoming 23rd birthday, outside the nightclub at 2:32 a.m. on Feb. 24, 2019. Correia had attempted to get into an Uber, but was pushed away.
That's when Coleman approached her and said, "this is not your Uber," according to witness testimony. Coleman escorted Correia to his car, at one point giving her a piggyback ride because she was shoeless and it had snowed.
Video footage shows Coleman's car drove to nearby Tremont St. and parked for 12 minutes. It was during that time investigators said there was evidence that Coleman sexually assaulted Correia and there was a struggle, including a shattered windshield. An autopsy concluded Correia had been strangled.
Roughly 90 minutes later, video from Coleman's Providence apartment complex on Chestnut St. showed him carrying a body out of his car. Police later identified the person slumped over Coleman's shoulders as Correia, and she was naked from the waist up.
Police later discovered Coleman purchased various items including a scented candle, limestone, baking soda, coveralls, an odor respirator, bleach and a large suitcase.
A search warrant also found Coleman conducted internet searches, querying things like "can a person fit in a suitcase," "how to clean for embalming," and "how to pull a tooth that's not loose."
Six days after the encounter outside the nightclub, video showed Coleman putting a suitcase in the trunk of his car, "noticeably struggling with its weight."
Investigators - who had identified Coleman through video surveillance in Boston - tracked his car using its OnStar system. Coleman was pulled over by a police officer in Delaware, where he stated there was someone "in the trunk," and "she's dead."
In the earlier appeal to the 1st Circuit, Coleman raised multiple legal challenges, including claims that the indictment was unconstitutional, police had not established probable cause for search warrants, racial bias in jury selection, and how the jury was instructed by the trial judge prior to deliberations. All were rejected.