By Shayna Jacobs
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MANHATTAN — A Manhattan appeals court ruled against a man who claimed he was mentally unfit for trial when convicted of killing an actress and writer during a robbery on the Lower East Side in 2006.
Rudy Fleming, 25, was convicted at trial for the killing of 28-year-old Nicole duFresne, a playwright and actress who was walking home with friends after a night out when she was robbed by Fleming and his accomplices.
Fleming shot her in the chest after duFresne reportedly shouted "You got what you wanted" at her attacker.
Fleming was convicted of murder, robbery and other charges on Dec. 11, 2006, in Manhattan Supreme Court.
He was sentenced to life in prison without parole, but appealed last year on the basis that he should have been deemed mentally unfit for trial.
The appeals court upheld the conviction Tuesday in a decision that supports the lower court's finding that Fleming should have been tried for the crimes.
"There was extensive evidence that defendant, even if psychiatrically ill, was deliberately exaggerating his illness and feigning the type of symptoms that might suggest an inability to understand the proceedings and assist in his defense," the judicial appeals panel wrote in Tuesday's decision.
A memorial fund was set up in duFresne's honor after her death.
