Fort Wayne man appealing 2023 murder conviction asks for new trial

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WPTA) - A 39-year-old Fort Wayne man convicted in a 2023 murder is asking for a new trial or a reduced sentence.

A jury found Steven Atkins guilty of fatally shooting 20-year-old Kierra Zepke. He was sentenced to 85 years for the crime last October.

Zepke was shot while in a car in the 1300 block of Lillie Street at about 11 p.m. on May 9, 2023, and carried inside a home where she was later pronounced deceased.

In Atkin’s appeal, he says that prosecutors introduced evidence of him allegedly shooting into the victim’s home and threatening her in the weeks leading up to her death. He says because he was never charged in connection to either allegation, it should not have been presented to the jury because it could have swayed their opinion in the case.

Deputy Attorney General Kathy Bradley, representing the Indiana Attorney General’s Office in the appeal, said Atkins should have objected to the evidence at trial. At trial, Atkins objected to a video of a detective interviewing Zepke about the allegations of threats being shown to the jury, but only because it he said it was incomplete and not because it was inadmissible.

If the Indiana Court of Appeals does not decide to vacate Atkins’ conviction and give him a new trial, he asked that they reduce his sentence, which is the maximum sentence he could have received.

Bradley said the sentence should not be reduced because Atkins killed Zepke in a “calculated, premediated attack,” further citing his criminal history.

The appeal was sent to the Indiana Court of Appeals on Tuesday.