NH man appeals conviction in fatal machete attack

NASHUA, N.H. (AP) — A New Hampshire man who is serving life in prison for killing a woman with a machete and maiming her 11-year-old daughter has appealed his conviction.

Attorneys for Steven Spader cited a variety of rulings that they say were improper and merit a new trial. Among them: the judge refusing to change the location of the trial amid extensive publicity and allowing evidence that Spader talked about wanting to eat his victims.

The 19-year-old Spader was sentenced last month in the October 2009 attack on 42-year-old Kimberly Cates and her daughter in their Mont Vernon home. A second man has admitted his involvement and is planning to use an insanity defense in his trial, scheduled for February.

Three others have pleaded guilty to lesser charges.