John Veltre was 16 when he committed the crimes in Westmoreland County
HARRISBURG — Attorney General Dave Sunday announced that John Veltre will not get relief from a life without parole prison term, after a Westmoreland County Judge recently resentenced the man for brutally attacking a woman and killing her two young children more than 50 years ago.
Veltre was 16 when he committed the crimes, so he was eligible for resentencing as the United States Supreme Court has ruled all mandatory life terms for juveniles be reconsidered.
The Office of Attorney General argued that Veltre should not be granted early parole because his crimes were so depraved, and, also, he has not taken full responsibility for his actions.
Veltre, now 69, was originally sentenced to two life terms, and on June 27, was resentenced to life without the possibility of parole.
”I am an advocate for second chances when they are appropriate — however, some crimes are just too heinous and harmful to the community to warrant relief,” Attorney General Sunday said. “The nation’s highest court has ruled that juveniles sentenced to mandatory life in prison terms be reviewed and reconsidered. That review was done in this case, and we are thankful the re-sentencing court agreed with our assessment that John Veltre remains a threat to free society.
”I cannot fathom acts more violent and vicious than what took place here: a baby and toddler were brutally murdered and a mother raped and beaten, only surviving due to her own determination and strength, not because of any mercy shown by a callous killer who left her to die with her children.”
In 1973, Veltre entered the apartment of a young mother and her two young daughters. Inside, Veltre murdered both the infant and the two year-old child after he brutally raped and assaulted their mother.
The children died of blunt force trauma injuries, and the mother was left for dead, but survived.
The post-conviction matters were handled by the Office of Attorney General, most recently, Senior Deputy Attorney General Alicia Werner.
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