Parole denied for youngest Hollandsburg murder inmate

Lisa Trigg, The Tribune-Star, Terre Haute, Ind.
·2 min read

Aug. 10—Parole has been denied for the youngest of the four men convicted of murder in the infamous Hollandsburg Valentine's Day Massacre.

David Smith, now 62, declined to appear Tuesday morning before a five-member Indiana parole board, nearly 44 years after he was convicted of the 1977 shotgun slayings of four young Parke County men.

The board voted unanimously to reject parole for Smith, having received several letters in opposition to Smith's release. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, in-person public attendance at the hearing was not permitted.

Smith will next be eligible for a parole hearing in August 2026.

The parole board denied his first petition in August 2016. The nature and circumstances of the crimes were cited by all five parole board members as reason for the denial of parole.

He remains at Pendleton Correctional Facility.

Smith, who was 17 years old when the homicides occurred, was sentenced to four life sentences on Oct. 27, 1977. At that time, Smith had no parole eligibility.

The Supreme Court in 2016, however, held that a mandatory life sentence with no parole should not apply to juveniles convicted of murder, opening the door for a parole hearing for Smith.

Smith was one of four young men found guilty of the Feb. 14, 1977, shotgun slayings of Gregory Brooks, 22, Raymond Spencer, 17, Reeve Spencer, 16, and Ralph Spencer, 13.

The four boys — along with Brooks' mother, Betty Jane Spencer — were shot while lying face down on the floor of their Hollandsburg home by four intruders wielding sawed-off shotguns.

The brutality of the murders shocked the rural Parke County community of Hollandsburg, a tiny village eight miles east of Rockville on U.S. 36 at Raccoon Lake State Park.

Betty Jane Spencer survived the shooting and gave police descriptions of the four suspects who broke into her home and killed her son and three stepsons.

She later testified against the four suspects and was a vocal opponent to clemency for the convicted killers whenever they sought release from prison. Spencer died in 2004.

The ringleader of the violent thrill killings, Roger Clay Drollinger, died at age 60 in January 2014 at the Wabash Valley Correctional Facility.

The other two convicted killers — Michael W. Wright, now 66, and Daniel R. Stonebraker, now 65 — are both housed at Pendleton Correctional Facility serving life sentences.

The Supreme Court decision did not present an opportunity for parole for Wright or Stonebraker.

Lisa Trigg can be reached at 812-231-4254 or at lisa.trigg@tribstar.com. Follow her on Twitter at TribStarLisa.

Our goal is to create a safe and engaging place for users to connect over interests and passions. In order to improve our community experience, we are temporarily suspending article commenting

Recommended Stories

  • Australia's Victoria state reports steady rise in COVID-19 cases

    SYDNEY (Reuters) -Australia's Victoria state reported 20 new locally acquired cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, a steady rate of increase, as officials consider whether to extend a snap one-week lockdown in Melbourne. Six of the diagnosed people spent time in the community while infectious, a key measure that officials have said needs to be close to zero before lockdowns in both Melbourne and Sydney can be lifted. The Herald Sun newspaper reported that Melbourne restrictions could remain until at least early next week, without citing sources.

  • Police say man in yellow vest, others are breaking into homes in Orange, Durham counties

    The latest in a string of break-ins was reported just days after a Carrboro resident came home to find people in his apartment.

  • Maskless California man bullies the wrong 'Korean Uncle' as H Mart Ahjummas come to his defense

    A man who caused a ruckus after refusing to wear a mask at an H Mart in California was forced to leave the store as its manager and customers stood together to kick him out. Emilie Tan (@emilieeetan), who was shopping with her boyfriend, managed to film parts of the chaos. Tan told NextShark that they first found the man arguing with the manager at the back of the store.

  • Street Takeover Leads To Fatal Police Shooting

    It was only a matter of time before something like this happened…

  • Ohio Court Sentences Black Woman to 18 Months in Prison the Day After Giving White Woman Probation for Same Crime

    While the above headline may seem incendiary, it is important not to draw false equivalencies because all criminal cases are not equal. For example, in this specific story, two women—one Black, one white—were convicted of the exact same crime. However, the two cases are not the same. One is worse than the other.

  • Colorado Woman Allegedly Killed by Trump-Loving Hubby Had an Affair, Cops Testify

    Courtesy Chaffee County Sheriff’s OfficeSuzanne Morphew, a Colorado mother-of-two who vanished without a trace while out on a bike ride on Mother’s Day last year, had a prolonged affair before her disappearance, investigators revealed in court on Monday.The shocking revelation came during the start of a two-day preliminary hearing for the trial of her husband, Barry, who is accused of killing the 49-year-old on May 10, 2020. Morphew, 53, is facing several charges, including first-degree murder a

  • A Teacher Died By Suicide After Being Arrested for Soliciting a Minor. His Family Says the Cops Went Rogue.

    Douglas PetersenOn July 31, 2019, Brian Petersen, a 39-year-old school teacher in Texas, went on the gay dating app Grindr and struck up a conversation with a man whose profile name was “Fresh Meat.”He asked how the man’s week was going and if he was “looking for something tonight,” according to a transcript of the chat obtained by The Daily Beast. “You into younger boys,” the man replied, apparently posing the question.When Petersen asked for the man’s age, he said “under 18.” Petersen suggeste

  • Chicago police turn backs on an approaching Mayor Lightfoot after cop shootings

    Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot was given the cold shoulder as officers turned their back on her as she arrived at […] The post Chicago police turn backs on an approaching Mayor Lightfoot after cop shootings appeared first on TheGrio.

  • Former Houston pastor accused of molesting teen for 5 years

    The 46-year-old admitted and pleaded guilty to the molestation while as a pastor in Cypress Station. The victim was 13 when it started, prosecutors said.

  • Pastor accused of sex assault talks of 2nd victim in jail call with wife, Texas cops say

    “I’m a dead man,” the pastor told his wife in a phone call from jail, police say.

  • Nicole Brown’s sister on O.J. Simpson’s latest comments: DNA doesn’t lie

    Double murderer (per final judgment issued in a civil lawsuit) O.J. Simpson recently said he doesn’t go to Los Angeles because he doesn’t want to accidentally end up sitting next to the real killer of Nicole Brown and Ron Goldman. Nicole Brown’s sister predictably found remarks objectionable. Via TMZ.com, Tanya Brown said Simpson need not [more]

  • Inmate murders sister’s rapist in prison, gets 25 years added to sentence

    A man who was already serving time in jail found himself in an unbelievable predicament when he discovered his cellmate […] The post Inmate murders sister’s rapist in prison, gets 25 years added to sentence appeared first on TheGrio.

  • Suspect arrested in connection with murder of Bank of America exec

    A suspect has been arrested in connection with the murder of a prominent Bank of America executive who was found […] The post Suspect arrested in connection with murder of Bank of America exec appeared first on TheGrio.

  • Chinese court rejects Canadian’s appeal of death sentence

    Robert Schellenberg was sentenced to prison in November 2018 after being convicted of drug smuggling. He was abruptly resentenced to death in January 2019.

  • Ex-LAPD cop charged with manslaughter in deadly Costco shooting

    On the night of June 14, 2019, Kenneth French and his parents, Russell and Paola, were shot by off-duty LAPD Officer Salvador Sanchez while in line at a sample station at the store.

  • China: Canadian citizen loses appeal against death penalty

    The verdict comes as an extradition battle in Canada for Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou continues.

  • 2 brothers charged in fatal shooting of Chicago officer

    Two Chicago brothers have been charged in a weekend shooting during a traffic stop that left one police officer dead and another seriously wounded, the Chicago Police Department announced in a Monday press release. Emonte Morgan, 21, is charged with first-degree murder in Saturday’s fatal shooting of 29-year-old officer Ella French, as well as attempted murder and other charges. Officers had stopped a vehicle Saturday with two men and a woman inside just after 9 p.m., when a male passenger opened fire, Chicago Police Superintendent David Brown said Sunday.

  • Chicago Cops Turn Backs on Mayor after Police Shooting

    A group of Chicago police officers turned their backs on Lori Lightfoot during her visit to University of Chicago Medical Center, where two officers were hospitalized.

  • German teacher goes on trial in alleged cannibalism case

    Prosecutors say the man on trial met his victim, a 43-year-old German mechanic, on an online dating site a few hours before the September slaying, German news agency dpa reported. The suspect allegedly chopped up the man's body in his Berlin apartment and then spread parts of it in different neighborhoods of the city, dpa reported. The trial at a Berlin state court, which is expected to last until mid-October, is not the first of its kind in Germany.

  • Police officials critical of CPD community team slain officer assigned to

    Chicago Police Officer Ella French was part of a special unit known as "Community Safety Team," but some of the force are critical of the team.