A 51-year-old man who raped and killed a 17-year-old in Framingham nearly three decades ago was denied parole in a split vote of the state’s parole board.
Damien Lockhart pleaded guilty to second-degree murder for the girl’s death in September 1997. Lockhart made his fourth appearance before the board on March 4, and members were split in half on whether to grant the man parole — three members voted to release Lockhart while three voted to deny his parole with a review in two years.
As a result, Lockhart will appear before the board for review again in a year.
On Aug. 10, 1996, Lockhart sexually assaulted and killed a 17-year-old girl in Framingham, whose body was found by the edge of a railroad dirt access road. The girl had sustained seven distinct blows to her head and face, as well as several cuts and bruises on her hands that were consistent with defensive wounds. Her body also showed signs of sexual assault, the parole board wrote.
Blood that matched the girl’s was found on Lockhart and footprints at the crime scene matched sneakers Lockhart was wearing the night of the murder. Several eyewitnesses told police they saw Lockhart with the girl near the time and place of the murder. Lockhart was arrested when he went to the Framingham Police Department for questioning.
In its decision, the board noted Lockhart had undergone rehabilitative programming and taken correspondence courses related to some of the factors that led to his criminal behavior. Lockhart completed a sex offender treatment program in 2017.
The board suggested Lockhart undergo programming related to victim empathy.
A pair of Lockhart’s family members testified in support of his parole, while four members of the girl’s family and a Middlesex County prosecutor testified in opposition.
More on the Massachusetts Parole Board
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