A first-degree murder conviction against a man who fatally shot his wife’s partner was appropriate considering the evidence presented at trial, a Pennsylvania court ruled this week.

Jose Ferrufino, 52, is seeking relief from a life sentence and argued the jury’s 2018 verdict was against the weight of the evidence.

The Pennsylvania Superior Court rejected that argument, finding there was “sufficient evidence,” and that a local judge’s previous denial of relief was appropriate.

Ferrufino was sentenced in January 2019 to life in prison, plus 15 to 35 years, for killing 35-year-old Hugo Garcia-Hernandez inside a Providence Township home in 2017.

Prosecutors called the shooting a “stone-cold assassination” in response to the victim’s relationship with Ferrufino’s wife.

Garcia-Hernandez sustained a fatal gunshot wound to the chest and had been beaten in the face when he was found in his Pennsy Road home.

Pennsylvania State Police investigated the case. Trooper Linda Gerow filed charges.

Assistant District Attorney James Reeder handled the recent post-conviction matters.

MEDIA CONTACT: Brett A. Hambright, 717-295-2041; bhambright@co.lancaster.pa.us; Twitter: @BrettHambright