SCRANTON, Pa. — A family in Lackawanna County is waiting on bated breath.
The man convicted of killing two family members has been recommended to be denied parole, but a final decision will come from the U.S. parole commission in the coming weeks.
The whole ordeal brings back painful memories.
Joan Halpin Lotz and her husband Lt. James Lots were both from Scranton.
They were brutally murdered in 1987 at their home on a marine base in North Carolina.
Now, every two years, their family back in Northeastern Pennsylvania has to relieve the horror.
"Our bodies were pretty much shaking. The heart rate goes up. It's just, you feel as though you're back to 1987 all over again," Thomas Halpin said.
This week, Joan Lotz's brother, Tom Halpin of Archbald, had to speak at a parole hearing for the man who killed his sister and her husband.
Ronnie Curtis stabbed the two to death and sexually assaulted Joan as she was dying.
Lt. Lotz had been his commanding officer.
The Lotz family met at the federal courthouse in Scranton to read their statements to the parole examiner over video conference.
"It's just very tough to go through every single day, especially yesterday, the emotions are very strong," Tom Halpin said.
Ronnie Curtis was given the death sentence in 1987 but that was overturned ten years later.
Now, every two years, Curtis gets the opportunity for parole and the Lotz family has to repeat their horrific story.
"You just can't believe that you have to retell and retell the stories over, and over, and over again. It's just like I said before, it gets exhausting," Tom Halpin said.
If Curtis' parole is denied, he will get another opportunity to appeal in the Spring of 2023.
