A state appeals court panel Thursday upheld a man’s conviction for killing his wife and 25-year-old son at their West Athens home nine years ago.

The three-justice panel from California’s 2nd District Court of Appeal rejected John Edward Bloodworth’s challenge to the jury’s finding that he was sane at the time of the Oct. 20, 2010, slayings.

“The rational 911 call defendant made immediately following the murders, in which he recognized his own wrongdoing, supports the conclusion that defendant was sane,” the panel found in its 34-page ruling.

Bloodworth was convicted of first-degree murder for the killing of his wife of 39 years, Gladys, and of second-degree murder for the slaying of their son, Jeremy.

Jurors found true the special circumstance allegation of multiple murders, but deadlocked on whether he was sane or insane at the time of the killings. A second jury empaneled for a sanity phase retrial determined that he was sane at the time of the crimes.

Bloodworth confronted his 63-year-old wife and accused her of being unfaithful. She denied the allegations and went with their son to his bedroom, where they remained with the door locked, according to Deputy District Attorney Jessica Tillson.

Bloodworth remained outside his son’s bedroom until after 2 the next morning, when he kicked the door down, shot his son once in the head and shot his wife twice in the back of her neck, according to evidence presented at his trial.

Within minutes of the killings, he called 911 and told a dispatcher, “I think I just killed my wife and son,” and subsequently reported twice, “I shot ’em,” according to the appellate court panel’s ruling.

He subsequently called his other son to tell him to come home because he had killed the two, and called his long-distance girlfriend to tell her that he wouldn’t be seeing her for a while because he had “acted a fool and killed Gladys and Jeremy,” the justices noted in their ruling.

Bloodworth — who was 65 at the time of the killings — was sentenced last year to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

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