SALAMANCA - A man who was convicted of raping and killing a Salamanca woman in 1999 was denied parole for the fourth time Wednesday.
Edward Kindt, who raped and killed Penny Lea Brown, a mother of two, while she was jogging with her dogs on Mother's Day in 1999 was denied parole Wednesday and will be held in the Elmira Correctional Facility until his next parole hearing in 2014.
Kindt was 15 years old at the time of the crime, and was convicted in 2000 to nine years to life in prison after pleading guilty to the crime.
Mrs. Brown went out for a jog that day around 4 p.m., but never returned. She was reported missing on May 9 by her husband, Robert Brown. Police later found her body on May 10, along a popular nature trail in Salamanca where she jogged.
According to Kindt's confession, he strangled her with a collar from one of the two dogs with which she was jogging and then dragged her body into a ditch and buried her with leaves and pieces of metal. Investigators sought to question Kindt after finding him on the trail while searching for Mrs. Brown. He told police at the time he was looking for a stick he had whittled the day before.
State Sen. Catharine Young, R-Olean, argued that had Kindt been just two months older at the time of the attack, he would have been given a more appropriate sentence of 15 to 25 years to life in prison. As a result of this case, "Penny's Law" was passed, which increased the sentencing range for juvenile killers.
"The parole board correctly reasoned that Kindt's parole is not compatible with the welfare of society, and that this violent, dangerous person who continues to show no remorse for his actions should continue to be locked away," Sen. Young said. "It is unfortunate that families of victims must continually work to ensure offenders who commit such gruesome, savage acts remain imprisoned. Thanks to the efforts of all the caring, concerned citizens who wrote letters opposing Kindt's parole, he will not be free to prey on other innocent victims."