BAY MINETTE, — The Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals on May 20 upheld the murder and arson convictions of Ian Axyl Aitcheson, 19, of Silverhill, who was convicted by a jury in Baldwin County Circuit Court in March 2010 for the murder of his father, Robert Aitcheson.

Evidence presented at the trial stated that Ian Aitcheson, in concert with others, entered Robert Aitcheson's mobile home, put a plastic bag over his head, put a pillow over his face, and stabbed him in the abdominal area with a kitchen knife.

The victim died from the wound to the abdominal area which perforated his liver. Aitcheson and four other young men then poured gasoline over the victim's body and throughout the mobile home and ignited the gasoline.

Testimony at trial showed that Aitcheson was involved in a gang, and that Robert Aitcheson's murder may have been part of a gang initiation for one of the codefendants.

After Aitcheson was found guilty by a Baldwin County jury, four other codefendants who had some role in the murder entered pleas of guilt in the case.

The case was prosecuted at trial by the Baldwin County District Attorney’s Office. Aitcheson was sentenced to life imprisonment for each conviction, and subsequently sought to have his convictions reversed on appeal.

The Attorney General’s Criminal Appeals Division handled the case during the appeals process, arguing for the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals to affirm the convictions.