LOS ANGELES (AP) — A state appeals court has upheld the second-degree murder conviction of a Southern California chef who claimed he cooked his wife’s body in boiling water.

City News Service reports that a court panel on Wednesday rejected a claim that there was insufficient evidence to convict David Viens.

The chef is serving 15 years to life for the 2009 killing of his wife, Dawn.

Viens told investigators that during an argument, he bound and gagged his wife with duct tape, fell asleep and woke up to find her dead. Viens said he boiled her body for four days and dumped the remains in the trash. Her body was never found.

However, Viens later denied cooking his wife and said he’d just had surgery and was hallucinating when he spoke to detectives.

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