Karlsen pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in November 2013. At the time, Karlsen admitted to killing his 23-year-old son, Levi Karlsen, in 2008, when he intentionally caused a pick-up truck to fall off a jack and land on his son's chest.During his plea, Karl Karlsen said he had obtained a $700,000 life insurance policy on his son's life roughly two weeks before the murder.... He was sentenced to 15 years to life in prison.
In an appeal, attorney John Cirando argued that Karl Karlsen was improperly denied an attorney during police interrogations and that his statements to police were not voluntary. In addition, Cirando said his client's statements to his estranged wife should have been precluded under the spousal privilege law, that he did not waive his Miranda rights and that his guilty plea was not knowing or intelligent due to a lack of effective counsel.
On June 6, the state Court of Appeals denied the appeal, upholding the rulings of the lower courts.
