Parole Denied for Eleanor Prouty's Murderer

Parole was denied for a murderer, who has been serving 27 1/3 years to life in prison for savagely victimizing long-time Somers residents Eleanor and Norman Prouty, Sr. 

Brooks Prouty, the grandson of the Proutys, told Patch on Monday morning that Terry Losicco, who met with the New York State parole board last week, will be staying behind bars. 

"I have no idea what sort of person Terry Losicco has become, nor do I particularly care," Prouty said in a statement to the parole board. "I do believe that a person’s character can change and even improve. However, even if he were a model prisoner – even a great humanitarian – I would adamantly oppose his parole, nonetheless. He committed a heinous crime whose aftermath my family and I still struggle to live with."

Locisso is eligible for parole again in 24 months. This is the sixth time he had applied for parole, Prouty said. 

Brooks Prouty began an intense campaign against Losicco's release from prison and formed an online petition, which gained more than 1,170 signatures. 

"While the petition is a one-time thing, I plan to resubmit it in the future and also to interact vigorously with [New York] state officials," Prouty wrote on his Facebook page. "One of the lessons here is that if you want justice you have to fight for it."

Losicco was sentenced to prison for the horrific murder of Eleanor R. Prouty, acivic leader and retired Reader's Digest editor, and the near-fatal beating of her husband Norman R. Prouty Sr.

Brooks Prouty sent the following comment to the media Monday afternoon:

On behalf of the Prouty family, I greatly applaud the decision of the Parole Board in denying parole to Inmate Terry Losicco (DIN # 81B1188). We strongly agree with the Board's statement that releasing Losicco would be incompatible "with the welfare of society at large." Furthermore, we believe that Terry Losicco deserves to serve his maximum sentence, which is 99 years in prison; he is only one-third of the the way through as of today. This is a mete punishment for his extraordinary savagery against my grandparents, Norman and Eleanor Prouty. I am personally dedicated to recruiting any and all of my resources towards accomplishing that goal, which is exactly what the sentencing judge, the late Hon. Angelo Ingrassia, recommended and still believed at the time of his death last week.

My family is profoundly grateful to the community of Somers, N.Y., including our many friends and neighbors there and elsewhere, who rallied around us and supported the online petition. The petition played a crucial role, we believe, in reflecting how strongly so many of us feel thirty-three years later about this horrific crime and the man who committed it, Terry Losicco. The many loving comments on the petition also testify to what an outstanding person, friend, colleague, mother and grandmother Ellie was. If anyone should question whether people remember you for the good things you do in your life, one should look no further than this petition; people do remember. As hard as Terry Losicco tried to blot out my grandmother, her light shines through.

Although we are very pleased that Inmate Losicco has been denied parole, it is an unfortunate feature of our criminal justice system in NY State that he gets another crack at it in a mere 24 months, which means that my family and I have to revisit this process even sooner than that. Moreover, this process is ongoing for us until he is released or dies in prison. That is a harrowing prospect in itself. State Senator LaValle is sponsoring a bill to extend parole hearings from 24 to 60 months. We commend and support Sen LaValle's worthy efforts.

Finally, one of the most interesting things to come out of the collective effort to keep Losicco behind bars is the general acknowledgement among residents of Somers that Lincoln Hall remains a menace to the community. Terry Losicco was able to rape and murder because Lincoln Hall housed such a dangerous individual. No one then had any knowledge of him or his ilk because Lincoln Hall concealed such information. Lincoln Hall bears complicity for the rape and murder of Ellie and the severe beating of my grandfather, Norman, because it failed to alert the town to the threat and to protect the community from the violent elements of its population. The same lack of transparency and latent risk exists today, exposing other families nearby to the same dangers that sadly befell the Prouty family. I am working closely now with Scott Saks and a growing number of other residents of Somers in raising the question of Lincoln Hall. I encourage others in Somers to join our cause.

For further reading:

'Waking up to a Nightmare': Family Awaits Parole Decision for Somers Killer

Somers Asks Residents to Sign Petition Against Release of Convicted Murderer

Judge in Somers Murder Case Dies at 89

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