OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — The Oklahoma Court of Appeals on Thursday upheld the first-degree murder convictions and life in prison sentences of two men in separate cases from 2016.

The court rejected appeals by 36-year-old Keenan Holcomb, who was convicted in the June 2016 strangulation death of Tamyra Elston in Norman, and by 34-year-old Jeremy Irvin for the July 2016 fatal shooting of long-time friend and former brother-in-law Robert Godwin.

The defense attorney for the two men did not immediately return a phone call for comment.

Holcomb claimed improper testimony, insufficient evidence and ineffe...