She's spent nearly 30 years in prison. And Nancy Rish has again, been denied a new trial for her part in the 1987 kidnapping and murder of Kankakee businessman Stephen Small.

Judge Gordon Lustfeldt ruled in the latest appeal, saying testimony offered was not enough to convince him that Rish did not know of co-defendant Danny Edwards' plans to extort $1-million from Small's family.

The 63-year-old Edwards is serving a life sentence for the crime. He offered affidavits saying he acted alone in carrying out the crime.

Rish has maintained her innocence. Rish's attornies plan to appeal.

Small was abducted from his south side Kankakee home during the early-morning hours. Prosecutors said he had received a phone call about an alleged crime at his business, in an effort to get him out of his home. He was then kidnapped from an alley near his home.

Small died in a make-shift coffin, having been buried alive in a rural location east of Kankakee. Testimony during a trial linked Edwards and Rish to the case.

94.1 WGFA