The Nebraska Supreme Court has upheld a man’s 2011 conviction for the 1978 stabbing death of an Omaha man.

Jerry Watson was convicted of first-degree murder and a weapons count in the death of 61-year-old Carroll Bonnet and sentenced to 10 to 20 years in prison.

Bonnet’s body was found in his apartment in October 1978, and his car was later found in Illinois. DNA evidence and fingerprints led to Watson, who was in prison in Joliet, Ill., on burglary and drug charges.

Among other arguments, Watson’s appeal said that because 33 years had passed since the murder, he was denied his right at trial to confront witnesses, most of whom were dead or unavailable.

On Friday, the Nebraska Supreme Court rejected those arguments.