LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The Nebraska Supreme Court has again denied a request for freedom by a woman sentenced to life in prison for the 1998 group slaying of a teenage friend in Bellevue.

Niccole Wetherell was among six people between the ages of 16 and 20 involved in the murder of 19-year-old Scott Catenacci, who was stabbed at least 57 times in a city park. Wetherell, now 34, pleaded no contest to first-degree murder in 1999. She lost her direct appeal in 2000.

The high court later denied her first appeal for postconviction relief. After losing her second postconviction motion, she appealed, arguing that the lower court should have appointed an attorney for her and that her life sentence is unconstitutional.

On Friday, the Nebraska Supreme Court found no merit to her arguments.