Patty Columbo, Frank DeLuca up for parole again in Elk Grove Village murders
Patty Columbo and Frank DeLuca, convicted of one of the suburbs' most notorious murders four decades ago, will again have parole hearings this year.
The couple killed Columbo's parents and her 13-year-old brother at their Elk Grove Village home in 1976, bludgeoning, stabbing and shooting the victims. The Illinois Prisoner Review Board could free DeLuca and Columbo, who've spent the past 40 years behind bars.
Neither has come close to receiving enough votes to be granted parole in the past, but the 15-member board could free Columbo, 60, and DeLuca, 78, this time around.
"I do worry about that," said Lake County Undersheriff Ray Rose, who was the lead investigator on the case in 1976. He's attended every parole hearing since the couple went to prison in 1977 for killing Columbo's parents, Frank and Mary Columbo, and her brother, Michael.
DeLuca and Columbo each were sentenced to more than 200 years in prison. However, under Illinois sentencing laws as they existed in the mid-1970s, they have a legal right to parole hearings every three years.
Columbo has had at least 17 hearings, and she's received two votes in favor of her release the past four occasions.
DeLuca, who's never received a favorable vote, is scheduled to go first this year, when the prisoner review board will hold a preliminary hearing Feb. 8 at the Dixon Correctional Center. If the hearing goes forward, the full prisoner review board will vote on his case March 23, said Jason Sweat, chief legal counsel for the board.
Columbo's hearing is set for April 25, at the Logan Correctional Center. The full prisoner review board is scheduled to vote on her case May 25, Sweat said.
Elk Grove Village Police Chief Chuck Walsh has made a public request for residents to share their opinions and memories of the murders. Walsh plans to use the feedback in his presentation to the review board.
"So far, I would say the community overwhelmingly doesn't want Frank or Patty released on parole or under any circumstances," Walsh said.
Rose has made a presentation at each prior parole hearing, which includes crime-scene photos depicting the grisly deaths. He plans to do the same this year.
"This is your mother and your father and your brother," Rose said. "What happens to somebody that makes them want to do that to their own flesh and blood? It's disturbing to me."