A man who was previously convicted of kidnapping and then brutally murdering a New Milford NJ woman will remain in prison after his parole was denied.

Christopher Righetti kidnapped a 20-year-old woman from the Paramus Park Mall on August 31, 1976. He later raped her and violently attacked her with a knife. Righetti stabbed the victim six times; she eventually died as a result of her stab wounds.

Law enforcement eventually connected Righetti to the murder because he purchased the knife used to commit the homicide at a hardware store in Paramus, New Jersey.

Righetti, who is now 56 years old, has been in Northern State Prison in Newark New Jersey for decades. He has come up for parole at least six times over the years, but each time an NJ state parole board has denied his bid to be released from prison.

Righetti came up for parole three years ago because he has reportedly received credits while serving time behind bars. The same was true of Righetti’s recent parole hearing, which was scheduled due to his credits received while in prison. This loophole in the law has been exploited by Righetti, but it does not appear that he will be getting out of prison anytime soon. (The “early release” loophole has since been closed by the New Jersey state legislature.)

At the most recent parole hearing, the brother of the victim provided a statement that he believed Righetti posed a danger to the public and that the convicted murderer would kill again if he was released from incarceration.

Righetti is currently serving a life sentence because of the brutal nature of his crimes.

For more information about this case, read the NJ.com article, “Man Convicted of Killing New Milford Woman Denied Parole, Report Says.”