AKRON, Ohio -- The Ohio Supreme Court on Wednesday rejected the latest appeal for former Akron Police Capt. Douglas Prade in his 1998 murder case.

The court typically does not issue opinions on the cases they reject. Justices William M. O'Neill and Paul Pfeifer wanted to hear the case. Chief Justice Maureen O'Connor recused herself because she was the Summit County Prosecutor at the time of the original trial.

Prade's case will now be returned to Summit County Common Pleas Judge Christine Croce. She said in October that if the state's top court rejected Prade's appeal, that she will issue an order either granting or denying Prade a new trial.

Croce could also order a hearing for prosecutors and defense attorneys to present evidence on the new trial issue.

A court spokesman said Wednesday that he was unaware of the Supreme Court's decision. Prade's attorney, David Alden, said he was disappointed with the court's decision.

"I thought they should have taken the case but they are the Supreme Court and we're not," Alden said.

Alden said he expects an appeal to Croce's pending decision on the new trial, whichever way she rules.

Prade, now 69, was convicted by a jury in 1998 of killing his wife, Margot Prade. The case has been appealed several times since. A Summit County judge exonerated Prade in 2013 because of DNA evidence from someone other than Prade was found on Margot Prade.

The 9th Ohio District Court of Appeals reinstated Prade's conviction last year. Croce ordered him back to prison after he was free for about 18 months.

The Ninth District, however, reversed that decision, ruling that the evidence was far from conclusive and the common pleas judge abused her discretion.

Margo Prade, a 41-year-old physician, was found dead in her minivan outside her medical office on Nov. 26, 1997. She had been shot six times at close range, and the killer bit through her lab coat into her arm.

Douglas Prade, whom Margo divorced seven months before her death, was subsequently tried and convicted of aggravated murder, in part because of expert testimony by a forensic dentist matching him with the bite mark.

Prosecutors also painted a picture of Prade as a stalker who tapped his ex-wife's phones, verbally abused her, and threatened her.