Marty Joe Taylor, convicted in July of the 1998 murder of a Clanton woman, had his motion for a new trial denied this week.

Taylor appeared at the Chilton County Courthouse on Thursday in front of Circuit Judge John Bush, who heard from two witnesses for the defense and one witness for the state.

Bush ruled on Friday, issuing an order that denied the motion for a new trial, according to C.J. Robinson with the 19th Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office.

In June, a panel of 12 jurors returned a guilty verdict after deliberating for 35 minutes for Taylor who shot 39-year-old Jennifer Gail Hampton, who used to live on Second Avenue South, on Oct. 18, 1998.

Hampton was found off Hinkle Road in 1998, naked from the waist down, with a single gunshot wound to the back of her head.

After detectives conducted an initial investigation when the crime occurred, and based upon the collected evidence and technology available at the time, the case went cold and no arrests were made.

The case was later re-opened in 2011 by former Chilton County Sheriff and current investigator for the 19th Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office Billy Wayne Fulmer.

Using updated forensics technology, investigators were able to locate Taylor’s DNA profile as a match to DNA taken from Hampton’s body.

Taylor was arrested in 2012 and charged with murder.

He was sentenced on July 24 by Bush. Taylor could be eligible for parole in 15 years.