By Associated Press
Frankfort, KY – The Kentucky Parole Board decided Monday to keep a woman at the center of a 1980s slaying case that involved lesbian lovers and a hit man in prison for at least 10 more years.
The full board deferred 44-year-old Elizabeth Turpin's request in the death of her husband, 22-year-old Michael Turpin. The board cited the seriousness of the crime, the fact that someone died and that it was a violent crime with a deadly weapon. A two-member panel could not reach a decision last week.
Turpin, a co-worker and lover, Karen Brown, and a friend, Keith Bouchard, who knew each other from the car dealership where they all worked, were convicted in the killing of Turpin's husband on Feb. 3, 1986. Police say the women hoped to get $60,000 from life insurance.
The board earlier this month deferred parole for Brown for at least five years, citing similar reasons. Turpin and Brown have been in prison for 25 years.
Turpin's body was pulled from a pond near the entrance to Lakeside Golf Course in Lexington. He had been stabbed 19 times with two paring knives.
Michael Turpin's slaying was a sensation in central Kentucky, with the details of the case being played out daily during Brown's and Turpin's trials.
Bouchard, 22 at the time of the slaying, pleaded guilty to stabbing Michael Turpin and testified against the two women. He was sentenced to life in prison. Bouchard had unsuccessful parole hearings in 1994 and 2006 and is scheduled to face the board again in 2018.