OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The Nebraska Supreme Court says a lower court erred in the way it admitted evidence in the first-degree murder trial of a man who bludgeoned a woman to death, but says the error was harmless.

The Friday ruling upheld the 2015 conviction of 45-year-old Anthony Burries, who is serving life in prison for the 2014 death of 38-year-old Tina Hoult.

In his appeal, Burries argued — among other things — that the trial judge wrongly admitted into evidence a threatening letter he sent to a woman set to testify for the prosecution in his trial.

The state’s high court agreed that the letter could be allowed as evidence, but said the judge failed to instruct the jury to consider only whether it showed Burries’ consciousness of guilt.