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More than 1,100 people signed an online petition that seeks to deny parole to Terry Losicco, the Lincoln Hall resident who brutally attacked the elderly Somers couple in 1980. He goes before the New York State Parole Board this week. The parole board is expected to announce its decision in the next two days, Prouty said.
“I’m pretty confident the decision is going to go the way we all hope, and he’ll be denied parole,” Prouty said Wednesday afternoon. “My family has been overwhelmed by the support for the petition in the community. That’s been extremely meaningful to us and to learn how other residents of Somers and Westchester were affected themselves and also to see that (my grandmother) Ellie and our family is remembered.”
Losicco was 16 when he and fellow Lincoln Hall resident David Hollis broke into the home of Eleanor and Norman Prouty, where they expected to find a large sum of money. Eleanor Prouty, 67, was beaten to death and sodomized. Norman Prouty, who used a wheelchair because of multiple sclerosis, was badly beaten and survived but lived the rest of his life in a nursing home. Brooks Prouty said he was motivated to start the petition in 2010 after he learned of Hollis’ quest for parole.
Losicco won’t be made aware of the petition and the steps Prouty and Somers resident Scott Saks have made to voice their concerns. Saks lives in the same Somers home where the Proutys were attacked. In addition to helping to circulate the petition, the two have joined to raise awareness of issues at Lincoln Hall and its security.
“The thing I’m really focused on more and more is the element of risk that the town of Somers is exposed to by the existence of Lincoln Hall and its security practices that are very, very lax,” Prouty said. He said he recently learned of records that showed state police responded to more than 300 calls to Lincoln Hall in just more than a year. “My understanding is that is a shockingly high number.”
Prouty, who lives on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, said he will not attend Losicco’s parole hearing but would be anxiously waiting for a phone call to hear the decision.
“If nothing else, the level of awareness has increased,” he said. “The petition showed that this isn’t just a concern of mine, but it’s a concern to a lot of people. And I think the issue of improving the situation at Lincoln Hall is something that could be addressed now. That’s something that could help people in Somers today, and that’s what I want to see happen.”
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