Man convicted in IU student’s death appeals 80-year sentence

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) – A man serving an 80-year prison sentence for the beating death of an Indiana University student is appealing his sentence.

Daniel Messel’s appeal argues that evidence speculating that a heavy flashlight may have been used to kill 22-year-old Hannah Wilson should not have been admitted during his trial.

The Herald-Times reports Messel’s appeal comes as the 52-year-old Bloomington man remains hospitalized at the psychiatric unit of the New Castle Correctional Facility.

Prison officials won’t comment on his status or why he was moved there last November.

Messel was convicted last August in Wilson’s April 2015 slaying.

The student from suburban Indianapolis was found dead in a vacant lot about 10 miles from IU’s Bloomington campus.

Messel’s cellphone was found beneath the Fishers woman’s body.

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