PORTLAND, Ore. -- The man who killed his Sunset High School classmate in 1990 will be released from prison on parole in October, the state parole board ruled Tuesday.
Conrad Engweiler raped and strangled 16-year-old Erin Reynolds when he was 15. The victim's family said the pair knew each other and briefly dated, but Reynolds had cut things off.
Her body was found in a yard debris pile outside Engweiler's home in February of 1990 after his father called to report his son was missing and a strange car was outside. The car belonged to Reynolds. Police believe she was killed the previous day.
A jury convicted Engweiler of aggravated murder, rape and sodomy. In 1991, a judge sentenced him to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 40 years.
On Tuesday, the parole board announced Engweiler would be released on Oct. 16.
Reynolds' sister, Beth Greear, told KGW she was upset to learn he was getting out of prison. She said it made her feel mad at our justice system, but not the parole board.
"The parole board has been amazing, fantastic through this," said Greear. "It's our justice system that failed the victim. He should have done 40 years. That's what he was given. When he came back and said he was upset that adult offenders that committed the same crime were getting less time, he was wrong. Some were getting the death penalty in 1990. He should have gotten death."
Greear said her attorney told her there was no option to appeal the parole board's decision.
"I'm afraid for the general public," she said. "He's absolutely a risk to society."
