Journals showed convicted killer disliked fellow Wendover student

Ohlson, who was brought into the case because of the possibility of the death penalty, has not had any contact with Patten since he was sentenced in August. The life without parole sentence was something he said he fully expected.

There are no attorneys in Elko qualified to handle death penalty cases, and Ohlson believed there were no attorneys outside of Reno and Las Vegas in Nevada allowed to handle such cases.

"I've always believed that my clients deserved my objective best without personal involvement and without sentiment … and that's what I try to give them," Ohlson said. "It doesn't mean that I'm not a human being. And there are cases that stick with me, one of them almost made me quit practicing law.

"And I'm not going to forget this one soon."

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