High court rejects 'Alpha Dog' murder case

WASHINGTON, Oct. 21 (UPI) -- The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal from a California murder suspect whose story was made into a movie while he was on the lam.

The high court did comment on its refusal to consider the case of Jesse James Hollywood, the alleged mastermind of a 2000 killing that became the basis of the movie "Alpha Dog."

The basis of the appeal was the fact that the prosecutor in the case cooperated with screenwriters in the project before Hollywood was arrested in Brazil in 2005, the Los Angeles Times said Wednesday.

The California Supreme Court had ruled earlier that while it might have been inappropriate for Santa Barbara County prosecutor Ron Zonen to give director and screenwriter Nick Cassavetes access to the case files, it didn't mean Hollywood wouldn't receive a fair trial.

The Times said Hollywood would stand trial in February for the kidnapping and death of 15-year-old Nicholas Markowitz, although Zonen won't be the prosecutor.