The Louisiana Parole Board will hold a hearing Aug. 3 to determine if Samuel Galbraith, convicted of the 1988 slaying of 21-year-old Karen Hill, is eligible for early release.
Galbraith, 47, was granted parole in November and was due for release in April. But a technicality regarding the notification of the victim’s mother, Jessie McWilliams, required that a new hearing be held.
The original notice was sent to Albany, N.Y., rather than Illinois, where McWilliams lives.
“This is such an emotional thing for us, but something so incredibly important,” McWilliams said. “We are ready for our time to speak against this man and what he did to our family all those years ago.”
She said she and her family plan to be at the hearing. McWilliams said she and Hill’s then-husband will speak and that Hill’s siblings will write letters to be read by McWilliams.
Vernon Parish District Attorney Asa Skinner said Galbraith was a soldier at Fort Polk when he kidnapped Hill from a convenience store, raped her, tied her to a tree and shot her in the eye.
Her body was found in a wooded area used for military training, and her death went unsolved for nine years, Skinner said, before a tip led to the arrest of Galbraith. In 2000, Galbraith pleaded guilty to manslaughter.
Skinner said Galbraith claimed he killed Hill “to live out a fantasy.”
Galbraith was sentenced to 71 years in prison, but his case was reviewed for early release under a law that allowed first-time offenders to be considered if they had served 20 years and were age 45 or older.
Gov. John Bel Edwards has said the law is no longer active.
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