GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — He shot a Kent County jail clerk twice in the head and, years later, had his life prison term reduced to 40 years. Still, Stephen N. Launsburry thought the shortened sentence didn’t go far enough.

Launsburry, who was 16 when he committed the 1993 murder in a railroad yard, argued last year’s reduced sentence of 40-60 years was disproportionate.

In a five-page ruling this week, the Court of Appeals disagreed. Justices said Kent County Circuit Court Judge Mark Trusock correctly considered aggravating circumstances in the case — that Launsburry, after shooting a pregnant Kristy Couch twice in the head, left her in a secluded area.

“Given the severe and brutal circumstances underlying the murder, as well as the defendant’s role as the leader in its commission, the trial court did not abuse its discretion,” justices wrote.

The decision means Launsburry, now 47, will remain locked up for at least another five years. He is eligible for release in March 2030.

A co-defendant, 47-year-old Gregory Wines, was earlier resentenced to a term of years and is now out of prison. He was 17 when he participated in the murder.

They abducted Couch, a county jail clerk, in November 1993 after flagging her down for a ride, saying they ran out of gas.

Couch, 22, was shot twice in the head and dumped at the CSX railroad yard on Freeman Avenue SW. Launsburry and Wines were arrested in Illinois driving the victim’s 1993 Mazda.

The pair were originally sentenced to life without parole, but mandatory life sentences for juveniles were ruled unconstitutional in 2012 by the U.S. Supreme Court.