No new murder trial for Eric Koula

La Crosse judge rejects latest appeal by man accused of shooting parents

Eric Koula’s latest request for a new murder trial has been turned down by a La Crosse judge. 

The West Salem man is serving a life term in prison for the 2010 shooting deaths of his parents at their Barre Mills home. 

Judge Scott Horne rules that Koula has not offered any new evidence implicating others in the murders, and is making arguments that should have been included in his original appeal. 

The judge also strikes down Koula’s claim of an ineffective defense, saying that Koula had some of the best lawyers in the area who argued an ‘excellent’ defense, which was rejected by a jury. 

Police believe Eric shot his parents, Dennis and Merna Koula, to get their inheritance after he lost large amounts of money trading stocks on the internet.

Koula has claimed that a relative may have committed the murders, or that a hit man arrived at the wrong house by mistake.