The scheduled execution of a Southern Indiana man convicted of brutally killing a Spencer County teenager in 2001 is still on track after the Indiana Supreme Court denied his motion for post-conviction relief Wednesday.

The state is set to execute Roy Lee Ward , 53, on Oct. 10, chief justice Loretta Rush wrote in the decision. The court initially set that as a "tentative" date in a July ruling.

Ward was convicted of murder and rape in the July 11, 2001 death of Stacy Payne: a 15-year-old cheerleader and honor roll student from Heritage Hills High School.

According to police, Ward knocked on Payne's door that day and claimed he was looking for a lost dog. That was a lie. He then attacked and killed Payne while her sister hid upstairs and called 911. When police responded to the scene,

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