A state appeals court has denied an appeal by a man from Essex County who admitted raping and killing a 16-year-old girl 30 years ago.

Robert A. Jones filed a motion to vacate his conviction after his parole application was denied for the 1987 rape and murder of Kari L. Nixon in a remote part of central Essex County.

He pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, first-degree kidnapping and first-degree rape for the abduction and killing of the teen, which was unsolved for 6 years, until Jones was arrested for a spree of bank robberies and confessed to the killing, leading police to Nixon’s buried remains.

Jones’ motion to throw out the conviction claimed that his lawyer at the time was not effective, as he didn’t challenge the legality of his confession, or “attack the facts” of the case. The motion claims that Jones’ attorney improperly advised him to reject a more favorable plea deal that would have offered him a shorter aggregate prison term of 20 years.

County Judge Richard Meyer rejected the motion to vacate, and Jones filed an appeal before the Appellate Division of state Supreme Court.

Appellate Division Justice Christine Clark wrote that Meyer handled the motion correctly, and there was insufficient evidence that his lawyer did not handle the case adequately. Jones also affirmed that his confession was legally obtained by police, she added.

“Additionally, the written plea agreement, sworn transcript of defendant’s police interview and the plea colloquy all demonstrate that defendant was aware of his right to remain silent and that his statements to the police regarding his crimes against the victim were voluntarily given in contemplation of securing a favorable plea deal for himself and for his wife — who was facing federal charges for her involvement in the bank robberies.

Jones, 54, of Ausable, is being held in Livingston Correctional Facility, a medium-security prison.

He is serving an 18-years-to-life sentence and is next eligible for parole consideration in August 2019.

Jones was serving a 15-year federal prison sentence for bank robberies around the Northeast that occurred after Nixon’s killing.

Nixon had been a neighbor of his.