A state parole panel on Thursday unanimously rejected parole for Patricia Columbo, the Elk Grove Village woman convicted of murdering her parents and 13-year-old brother in 1976. Columbo, now 69, is serving an indeterminate 200-to-300-year sentence and has been appearing before parole boards for decades. The latest denial came after hours of emotional testimony from relatives and longtime investigators who urged officials to keep her in prison.
The Illinois Prisoner Review Board recorded its unanimous vote at a March 26 en banc meeting, as reported by the Chicago Sun-Times. Family members again told the board they believe Columbo should never be released, and a representative from the Cook County State's Attorney's Office also pressed the panel to deny parole.
Case background and sentence
Columbo was convicted in 1977 for the May 4, 1976, killings of her father, Frank, her mother, Mary, and her 13-year-old brother, Michael, inside the family home on Brantwood Avenue, according to the Daily Herald. She received a 200-to-300-year sentence. Her co-defendant and former boyfriend, Frank DeLuca, was given a 300-year term and died in custody in 2023. Prosecutors and investigators have repeatedly cited what they describe as careful planning and extreme brutality when arguing against any chance of parole.
Family and investigators push back
Relatives and former investigators again turned out to oppose release. “Please don't ever release her. She doesn't deserve to be in society,” Mark Tygrett told board members, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. Lead investigator Raymond J. Rose, who has opposed Columbo at every parole hearing since 1984, once more urged the board to say no, stressing the lasting impact of the case on the community.
Defense arguments and the board's view
Columbo's attorneys pointed to years of prison programming and educational courses, arguing she has worked to rehabilitate herself. They also claimed that past abuse and manipulation by DeLuca should factor into how much responsibility she bears. Those arguments did not move the board, which flagged what it viewed as inconsistencies in Columbo's version of events and what officials described as her failure to fully accept responsibility, according to the Daily Herald. The unanimous outcome underscored long-running local opposition to her release.
Where she remains
Columbo remains incarcerated at Logan Correctional Center in Lincoln, the state's women's prison, and her case appeared on the Illinois Prisoner Review Board's March 26 en banc agenda. The board's public agenda lists an institutional interview on February 19, followed by the en banc review, according to the Illinois Prisoner Review Board. The Illinois Department of Corrections identifies Logan as the facility where she continues to serve her sentence. With the board's latest vote, Columbo will remain behind bars for the foreseeable future.
