Christopher Righetti, now 49, is serving life for murder and rape.
Convicted killer Christopher Righetti is scheduled to testify before the New Jersey State Parole Board today as the board decides whether to grant his parole.
Righetti, of River Vale, was convicted in 1976 of murdering Kim Montelaro, then 20, of New Milford. He kidnapped her from the Paramus Park Mall before raping and stabbing Montelaro six times and left her body in a Washington Township swimming area. Although he was 16 at the time, he was tried as an adult and sentenced to life in prison.
Righetti , 49, is serving his sentence in Northern State Prison in Newark and will be eligible for parole Sept 26, according to state records.
The prospect of his release has led to the creation of “Keep Bergen Safe,” a grassroots effort founded by Washington Township Councilman Bob Schroeder, to oppose Righetti’s parole. The group maintains a Web site at www.keepbergensafe.com where they urge visitors to write letters in support of keeping him locked up.
“Righetti is a dangerous murderer who has shown no remorse for his brutal rape and murder of Kim Montelaro,” reads the site’s home page.
The site offers a sample letter to be sent to the Parole Board. “Please deny his parole, and keep this dangerous, unrepentant killer behind bars where he belongs,” the letter states.
In August, Tony and Alice Montelaro, both 78, traveled to the Parole Board’s Trenton office to protest the killer’s release, according to the Bergen Record.
This is the fourth time Righetti has sought freedom and has been rejected each time. He appeared before the board in 1991, 1996 and 2004. Each time, the Montelaro family is there.
“We just can’t keep doing this over and over again…we haven’t slept since we found out he was up for parole again,” Alice Montelaro said in an August 12 Bergen Record article.
Many local politicians and police officials have publically opposed Righetti’s release and towns including New Milford, Washington Township, River Vale, Woodcliff Lake, Norwood, Paramus, Fair Lawn and Cresskill have passed resolutions asking the state to keep him in prison.
Righetti will plead his case before the board today, according to a state parole board spokesman.
PHOTO: New Jersey Department of Corrections
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