FARGO (AP) - A federal judge has denied an appeal for a Moorhead, Minn., man convicted in the death of his former baby sitter.

Michael Gianakos is serving a life sentence for the 1997 death of AnneMarie Camp, 22, of Fargo. He was found guilty of kidnapping resulting in death.

Gianakos filed an appeal with the federal court in November 2006, claiming there was government misconduct and his lawyer did a poor job of defending him.

U.S. District Judge Patrick Conmy denied the appeal, saying that Gianakos received a fair trial.

"It is the overall impression of the court that the performance of defense counsel at trial was exemplary," Conmy wrote. "Numerous witnesses were called in support of the defense theory of the case and the government's witnesses were tested with thoughtful cross-examination."

An appeals court denied a similar complaint by Gianakos in July 2005.

Authorities said Camp was killed because she knew about a motel robbery by Gianakos and his wife.