A Shenandoah man who claimed it was a ninja, and not he, who killed his estranged girlfriend in 2014 has lost a bid to overturn his life sentence.

Luis Ramos Nunez-Calderon, 43, asked the state Superior Court to reconsider the sentence, imposed after a jury found him guilty of first degree murder and aggravated assault in the death of Wendy Contreras-Hernandez, 38, on April 29, 2014.A panel of Judge Susan Peikes Gantman, Judge Mary Jane Bowes, and Judge John L. Musmanno denied Calderon's appeal.In his appeal, Calderon contended jurors should not have been told he had confessed to state police after he was caught in New York City.Calderon, who is from the Dominican Republic and does not speak English, argued that his confession was involuntary because he could not understand his Miranda rights or the interview questions.However, a New York City judicial employee, Adeles Acosta, who is also from the Dominican Republic and fluent in English and Spanish, testified she read him his rights and the interview questions in Spanish.Calderon told her he was "fine" with her translations during the interview, Acosta testified, and he agreed in writing that he understood."Thus this challenge to the knowing and voluntary nature of his confession fails," Superior Court Judge Musmanno wrote.Calderon also argued that he was not allowed to review what he said, and that the interview was not recorded. The Superior Court determined defendants have no such right to review, nor is it required that interviews be recorded.He also argued that the trooper taking notes of his confession did not write down every word he said.The Superior Court countered that did "not render his (confession) involuntary."According to court testimony, he killed Contreras-Hernandez, 38, by choking her and cutting her throat in the bathroom of her home at 518 W. Centre St.At his trial, Calderon testified he was forced to cut Contreras-Hernandez by a stranger, dressed in black, wearing a ski mask and brandishing a gun, who had crept into the house.State troopers say he confessed to the killing the next day, saying he had no choice but to kill her because she was trying to get him in trouble with police.The ninja story didn't fly with jurors, who took just an hour and 20 minutes on April 31, 2015, to find Calderon guilty of first-degree murder."God will be the judge of you all, since you judged me unfairly," Nunez-Calderon said through an interpreter after the verdict was read and his life sentence imposed.