Despite his death nearly two months ago, Richard G. Pierce got one last day in a Door County courtroom this week. Green Bay media outlets reported last month that Pierce died at Dodge Correctional Institution on October 24th, but his appeal still stayed on the calendar. Earlier this week, Judge David Weber denied all arguments presented in the motion, also denying the post-conviction relief, according to court records. It was over two years ago when the 86-year-old Pierce was convicted of murdering his wife, Carol Jean Pierce, and disposing of her body in 1975. The murder dates back to his time serving in Sturgeon Bay as a member of the U.S. Coast Guard. Her body was never found, and it had been considered a cold case until the Wisconsin Division of Criminal Investigation and the Sturgeon Bay Police Department worked together to solve it after 47 years. According to the Wisconsin Department of Justice, it is the longest bodiless homicide case, between disappearance and conviction, in United States history. He was sentenced to life in prison in August 2022. Pierce had been appealing the decision with his lawyers submitting a post-conviction motion recently as last August. They argued that some of the testimony used in the trial was hearsay and it should not have been allowed.