Romeo Pinkerton, the man convicted of killing five people at a Kilgore KFC has been denied parole.
Pinkerton was convicted of abducting the victims from the restaurant on September 23, 1983, driving them to a remote oil-field in Rusk County, and shooting them to death.
A second person, Darnell Hartsfield, was also convicted and is serving a life sentence.
For over 20 years the case went unsolved until Pinkerton plead guilty in 2007. He was sentenced to five life terms. Pinkerton became eligible for parole in April 2014, but was denied. Now he has been denied a second time based on:
- Records that indicate episodes which indicate a potential to commit criminal acts upon release
- Records that indicate the offense has elements of brutality, violence, and assaultive behavior that poses a threat to public safety
61-year-old Pinkerton, speaks about what he says was a reconstructed case to put an end to the murder mystery.
“They never found fingerprints or evidence the day of and then 23 years later they come to court with a napkin with my blood on it while I was already locked up for something else,” said Pinkerton.
The next parole hearing for Pinkerton occurs in May 2024.
