According to the State of Oklahoma, Verna Stafford, 73, was seeking parole in one of her two life sentences. If approved, Verna still would have remained in prison due to her second sentence, which is not eligible for parole for another 15 years.
The Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board had recommended parole for Stafford in a 3-2 decision on Aug. 11.
Stafford pleaded guilty in 1980 to two counts of second-degree murder stemming from the 1978 killings. The cases involved the June 22, 1978, killings of Melvin Lorenz, his wife, Linda, and their son along Interstate 35 near Purcell, followed by the deaths of six employees at a Sirloin Stockade restaurant in Oklahoma City on July 16, 1978.
Investigators say they ultimately connected the killings to Stafford, her husband, Roger Dale Stafford, and her brother-in-law,Harold Stafford.
