MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) - A man convicted of killing two young girls and a teenager 50 years ago in Alabama has been denied parole.
Edward Seibold's case went before the parole board Wednesday morning, the Opelika-Auburn News reports. Seibold, now in his 70s, will remain in prison at least another five years.
Seibold was convicted of the Sept. 6, 1967 murders of sisters Mary Lynn Sinclair, 9, and Elizabeth "Libba" Sinclair, 18; and Mary "MayMay" Durant, 8, a close next-door friend in their Auburn neighborhood. Seibold was angry over a denied romantic relationship with the oldest Sinclair sister, Cathey. The crime remains one of the most notorious in Alabama history.
Cathey Sinclair's mother, Juanita, was shot in the arm with a shotgun, but survived and went for help. The two small girls were killed with a single blast in the bed they shared. Elizabeth Sinclair was in the hallway, and killed with a hatchet to her throat. Cathey Sinclair escaped through a window.
Cathey Sinclair told the three-member board that Seibold said "he planned to kill all the family," even after his conviction. She pleaded with the parole board to spare her family from the fear that he might return and "finish the job."
Parole board chairman Cliff Walker announced that Seibold's next required parole hearing is set for 2022. Seibold was not allowed to attend the hearing, under prison and parole guidelines, and while the victims' side of the room was full of their supporters, his side was empty.
Alabama law requires that Seibold be allowed a parole hearing every five years. Serving time in Elmore, Seibold is one of the longest-serving inmates in the Alabama prison system. He avoided execution by the electric chair after a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in the early 1970s.