DENVER (CBS4)- A man already serving a life sentence for murder is suspected in another decades-old crime. On Wednesday, Douglas Thames lost his chance for an appeal.

Thames, 39, claims police conspired with a lab to falsify evidence in his 1995 trial. An appellate court ruled there was no evidence to prove his innocence.

Thames was convicted of murdering Susan Doll in Fort Collins. He was arrested for the crime in 1995. Doll had been raped and strangled and was murdered in August of 1989. DNA evidence linked Thames to her murder.

Multiple defense sources have told CBS4 that recent DNA testing has linked Thames to another murder.

Jacie Taylor, 19, was found dead in 1994 inside her Palisade apartment. She had been strangled with a dog leash, beaten and sexually assaulted.

Robert Dewey in court for his release hearing on Monday (credit: CBS)

The man who had been convicted and imprisoned for her murder, Robert Dewey, was exonerated and released from prison on Monday after new DNA testing indicated he had been wrongly accused.