DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – The U.S. Supreme Court has denied a southwest Iowa man’s appeal of his conviction for robbery, carjacking, obstructing justice and witness tampering. The court notified 49-year-old Tiran Casteel Thursday it would not hear his case.  Casteel, of Coin, (Iowa), is serving 27 years in prison for the 2008 robbery of Darlene Eitzen at her rural Page County farm.

Prosecutors say Eitzen was held at gunpoint while Casteel and his son, Devan, robbed her of a rare coin collection her late husband left her. While awaiting trial Casteel attempted to have Eitzen killed prompting obstructing justice and witness tampering charges.

Casteel’s conviction was upheld by a federal appeals court in 2013. He’s at a federal prison in Kansas. His son, Devan, is imprisoned in Texas, scheduled to be released in 2021.