ALEXANDRIA, La. (AP) — Jurors will hear closing arguments Monday in the case of a Mississippi man who was declared dead two decades ago, only to resurface as a murder suspect.

Prosecutors have their case against Thomas Steven Sanders, and defense lawyers have lost a key motion to get the case thrown out of federal court.

U.S. District Judge Dee Drell denied a defense motion for acquittal Friday, turning away defense arguments that the charges — kidnapping resulting in death and using a firearm in a crime of violence that caused a person's death — should be heard in state court.

Defense attorneys have essentially conceded that Sanders kidnapped 12-year-old Lexis Roberts in 2010, killing her and dumping her body in Catahoula Parish.

Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.

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