ALBANY — The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to review the murder case of Christopher Porco, the Bethlehem man convicted in 2006 of using an ax to murder his father and attempting to kill his mother, who was critically wounded.

The decision by the nation's highest court means Porco has one last prospect for a legal review of his case, which is to ask a federal court to consider whether his conviction was a violation of federal law and should therefore be overturned. Porco's attorney, Terence L. Kindlon, said he intends to file that application, which is known as a writ of habeas corpus, in U.S. District Court in Albany.

"We are never going to give up. We believe in our client," Kindlon said. "We believe in his innocence and we believe that ultimately there must be a solution to this problem."

The Supreme Court's decision not to hear arguments on Porco's case comes less than six months after the state's highest court, the Court of Appeals, unanimously upheld the conviction. Before that, the conviction also was unanimously affirmed by a midlevel appeals court in Manhattan.

The crux of the appeal has been whether Porco's rights were violated when a trial judge allowed testimony that Porco's mother, Joan, had allegedly identified her son as the attacker. Joan Porco has said she has no memory of that exchange with police, which took place as she was found near death in the bed she shared with her husband, Peter, a law clerk.

Porco, 28, is serving 46 years to life in state prison.

Last October, the state Court of Appeals issued a five-page decision that avoided deciding the constitutional arguments after the panel concluded the evidence against Porco — though largely circumstantial — was overwhelming. Courts have found that while a judge may make a mistake in a ruling, it can be "harmless error."

"We are pleased but not surprised by the Supreme Court declining to hear Mr. Porco's appeal," said Christopher Horn, a special counsel who handles appeals for Albany County District Attorney David Soares. "As the Court of Appeals has already held, the defendant's guilt was established by overwhelming evidence. This brings the case to a final conclusion. Case closed."

Soares, in a statement issued Monday afternoon, said Porco was convicted "after a fair trial ... and this case has been affirmed by both the Appellate Division and the New York state Court of Appeals."

Porco's trial took place in the summer of 2006 in Orange County, where the case was moved due to pretrial publicity in Albany County.

The jury heard testimony from police officers and paramedics that Joan Porco nodded yes when asked by a Bethlehem detective if her younger son had done it. The bedside exchange took place as paramedics worked to save Joan Porco's life. Her forehead was caved in by an ax, which damaged her brain, and her jaw was nearly severed. She lost an eye and was unable to speak as the detective leaned in and asked her a series of questions.

Kindlon argued that Joan Porco was so badly injured that it's doubtful she had any idea what she was being asked. Prosecutors countered that police and paramedics said she appeared to be cognizant while answering other questions and nodded no when the detective asked if her older son, Johnathan, was responsible for the attack. Johnathan Porco was out of state on a naval mission when the attack took place.

Christopher Porco's constitutional right to cross-examine his mother was lost because she had no memory of the exchange with police, Kindlon said.

The issue comes up often in cases where a witness or an accuser dies after having made an allegation prior to testifying at a trial.

Prosecutors countered there was no violation of Porco's rights because his mother testified at the trial and was cross-examined, including stating that her son was incapable of such violence although she could not recall the attack.

Peter Porco, a law clerk for an appellate justice, and his wife, a former speech therapist in the Schalmont school district, were bludgeoned with an ax as they slept in the darkened bedroom of their Bethlehem home on Nov. 15, 2004. Peter Porco stumbled through the home before collapsing inside the front door, where he died.

Christopher Porco was indicted in November 2005. Prosecutors said he was in debt, flunking out of college and had lied to his parents and used his father's name to secretly obtain loans for school and a vehicle. They also said he'd staged at least two prior burglaries at his parents' home to steal goods that he later sold on the Internet.

Porco is being held at a prison in Dannemora.

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