By NIKKI YOUNK

Staff Writer

CRYSTAL FALLS – The Michigan Court of Appeals has affirmed the conviction of a former Kingsford man charged with murdering an elderly Iron County woman in 2011.

David Anthony Levack, 47, was sentenced to life in prison in 2012 after a jury in Iron County Trial Court convicted him of killing 81-year-old Joyce Johnson of Stambaugh Township. He subsequently appealed his conviction.

On Tuesday, an appeals court panel consisting of judges E. Thomas Fitzgerald, Henry William Saad, and William C. Whitbeck denied that appeal.

The appeals judges felt that the evidence presented against Levack was sufficient for a conviction.

“When the evidence is viewed in the light most favorable to the prosecution, a rational trier of fact could find beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant broke into Joyce Johnson’s home and killed her to prevent her from testifying at his larceny trial,” they said in their opinion. “Accordingly, the evidence was sufficient and the defendant was not denied due process.”

The appeals judges also rejected several claims made by Levack. He had argued that his rights were violated when: a juror used an online map tool to confirm testimony, the prosecution made reference to a polygraph test, the prosecution asked him to comment on the credibility of other witnesses, and an exhibit displaying the location of cell phone towers in the area without scale was admitted.

According to the appeals judges’ opinion, Iron County Trial Court officials were justified in denying Levack’s requests for a mistrial on those issues. Furthermore, the opinion states that Iron County Trial Court officials were also justified in denying other motions that Levack and his various attorneys filed throughout the duration of the case.

Levack will continue to serve his life sentence without the possibility of parole. Online Michigan Department of Corrections records show that he is currently lodged in the St. Louis Correctional Facility in St. Louis, Mich.

Joyce Johnson was found deceased in her bath tub on Sept. 27, 2011, the same day that she was scheduled to testify against Levack in a stolen property trial.

An autopsy determined that she had died of manual strangulation.

During Levack’s 2012 trial in Iron County Trial Court, testimony revealed that Levack and Johnson met through a mutual friend sometime in 2008. He had acted as a handyman and helped Johnson care for her husband, who was suffering from dementia.

Johnson reportedly cut off contact with Levack following a break-in at her residence in early 2010. She later accused Levack of stealing her jewelry.

When Johnson failed to show up for Levack’s trial on those theft charges, deputies from the Iron County Sheriff’s Department conducted a well-being check on her. They found her deceased.

Key evidence in the murder trial included a Powerade bottle with Levack’s DNA that was found near Johnson’s home, several witnesses who saw Levack in the vicinity of Johnson’s home in the days before the murder, and cell phone records.

The records revealed that a cell phone that made a call to Johnson on the night of the murder also made calls to Levack’s friends and family members. Also, the records showed that whoever was using the cell phone was moving from the Iron Mountain area to the Crystal Falls area on the night of the murder.

A jury of seven women and five men found Levack guilty of first degree premeditated murder, first degree felony murder, first degree home invasion, and witness intimidation.

During both the trial, in which he testified, and the sentencing hearing, Levack maintained his innocence.

Nikki Younk’s e-mail address is nyounk@ironmountaindailynews.com.