Top court won't hear appeal from man convicted of killing parents

A northern Ontario man convicted of murdering his parents has failedin a bid to carry his case to the country's top court.

In a decision released without comment Thursday, the Supreme Court of Canada refused to hear an appeal from James Perlett, who was found guilty of the 1996 slayings of his mother and father in Fort Frances, Ont.

Perlett, who was 19 at the time, was found in the family home suffering from a gunshot wound to the abdomen after his parents were shot dead while they slept.

He claimed they were killed by a masked intruder who also shot him, but neither police nor other family members believed the story.

Perlett, now serving a life sentence with no parole for 18 years, has continued to maintain his innocence.

The Ontario Court of Appeal, however, said the evidence linking him to the slayings was overwhelming.