EARLY, Iowa (AP) – A judge has upheld the murder conviction of an Iowa mother who shot and killed her 20-year-old neighbor in 2001. Judge Michael Moon rejected an application for post-conviction relief filed by Tracey Richter, who’s serving life in prison in the slaying of 20-year-old Dustin Wehde.

Prosecutors contend Richter lured Wehde into her home in the tiny northwest Iowa town of Early, and shot him several times in her bedroom. They say she killed Wehde as part of a plot to frame her ex-husband during a custody battle.

Richter contends she acted in self-defense during a home invasion. She argued her 2011 conviction was tainted by errors at the trial by her defense lawyer, the prosecutor and the judge. Moon rejected all of those arguments in a 30-page ruling last month.