LITTLE VALLEY — It has been almost 24 years since the May 9, 1999, rape and strangulation death of Penny Brown as she jogged with the family dog along the Pennsy Trail in Salamanca.
Her killer, Edward Kindt, who was 15 at the time of his attack on Brown, a popular registered nurse and midwife, was granted parole by the New York State Parole Board and is due to be released on March 29.
Cattaraugus County Legislator Laurie Hunt, R-Salamanca, sponsored a resolution March 22 to condemn the parole board over its release of Kindt.
“He brutally murdered Penny Brown in 1999,” Hunt told fellow legislators, urging passage of the resolution. Kindt was sentenced to nine years to life, the maximum sentence for someone who commits second-degree murder who is under the age 16.
In 2003, former state Sen. Catharine Young of Olean sponsored and helped pass Penny’s Law, which increased the minimum sentence for second-degree murder by someone under age 16 to 15 years to life.
Brown’s parents, Jerry and Sibyl Lockwood, rallied the Salamanca community every two years to oppose Kindt’s release by the parole board until their respective deaths.
Legislator Norman Marsh, R-Little Valley, said Kindt “remains a predator” and noted the judge who sentenced him said “he should never be paroled.” He said the parole board has denied Kindt’s parole eight times.
Salamanca Democrat David Koch said he also opposed Kindt’s parole. “He ended Penny Brown’s life.”
Kindt is 39 years old, the same age as Brown when she was murdered.
All 17 legislators joined as cosponsors of the resolution opposing Kindt’s release.
Kindt remains in custody at the New York State Correctional Facility at Elmira. It’s unclear where he will go when released as scheduled on March 29, or what restrictions he will face on parole.
