NEW-YORK, December 22 – RAPSI. The Court of York County, Pennsylvania, dismissed an appeal by Michael and Nanette Craver, who were found guilty of murdering their adopted Russian-born son, to initiate a new trial based on their total innocence, the York Dispatch newspaper reports.

Nathaniel Craver (Vanya Skorobogatov) from the Chelyabinsk Region died on August 24, 2009 in a U.S. hospital from a head injury. The numerous other injuries on his body should be seen as torture, the prosecution said during the trial. Doctors found over 80 injuries on the boy's body.

The Court of York County, Pennsylvania, sentenced the Cravers on November 18 to 16 months in prison and five years on parole for involuntary manslaughter. However, they were released immediately after the trial as they had spent over 1.5 years in a pretrial detention center.

Three weeks ago, the Cravers’ attorneys filed an appeal requesting a retrial as their sentence was allegedly "against the weight of the evidence". The Cravers insisted on full acquittal.

According to York Dispatch, on Wednesday, Judge John Kennedy refused to dismiss the indictment passed against the Cravers and also turned down their request to reduce the legal expenses worth $98,000.

Tax payers of York County must get compensation for the Cravers’ defense as well as for the prosecution’s work, Kennedy said.

However, the Cravers will only have to cover expenses connected with the prosecution since they were represented in court by court-appointed public defenders.