COVINGTON, Ky. — A man who murdered a Covington woman in 1988 has a shot at parole.
Gregory Wilson was convicted and sentenced to death for the kidnapping, rape and murder of 36-year-old Deborah Pooley in 1988. Family members said she was killed in 1987, and her body was found two weeks later in an Indiana field.
"She loved spending time with us," said Pooley's niece, Keri. "Her family was so important to her."
Those who knew her called her Debbie. Both of her nieces, Keri and Ami, said their aunt lived with them in Florida before she decided to move to the Greater Cincinnati area to be closer to her parents.
"I thought she could finally rest in peace and now to go through this, to walk through this process all over again, it’s just so troubling, stressful and scary,” Keri said.
In 2019, Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin commuted Wilson’s sentence to life with the possibility of parole.
"He received a death sentence and, OK, they did not put him to death, but he deserves to remain in jail for life," Ami said.
"He doesn’t deserve freedom," Keri said. "Debbie lost her freedom. She lost her chance at living a full life."
Keri and Ami are concerned about what could happen if Wilson gets out. His parole hearing is in less than two weeks, and they’re scheduled to speak to the Kentucky Parole Board on Jan. 22.
"The community should be terrified, honestly," Ami said. "He has such a long history."
Kenton County Commonwealth Attorney Rob Sanders said in a statement, "Gregory Wilson is a convicted serial rapist and suspected of being a serial killer. Granting parole to this killer will place women’s lives in danger."
Sanders said he is also unhappy Bevin commuted Wilson’s sentence.
"The fact that Wilson is even eligible for parole is a travesty of justice," Sanders said. "[If] the governor was inclined to commute his sentence, he should have commuted it to life without parole so the victim’s family doesn’t have to live through another nightmare. This is just further evidence of how selfish Matt Bevin was when he put his temper tantrum full of pardons before Kentucky crime victims’ wellbeing and peace of mind."
Pooley's former manager Joe Heil can’t believe Wilson could get out.
"Governor Bevin didn’t sit through the trial. He’s not a jurist. He didn’t have to sit there and listen to a forensic scientist talk about the bugs that were eating Debbie while she laid in the field, Mr. and Mrs. Pooley did. I did. It was a very stressful time," he said.
Pooley worked for Heil for three to four years.
"The most bubbly person you’ve ever wanted to meet. She walked in the door early every day with a smile on her face," he said.
Heil has been working with Ami and Keri to help keep Wilson in prison. He plans to speak alongside them at the parole hearing.
"I don’t think there’s anybody out in the community who would have to have Gregory Wilson as their next-door neighbor," he said.
Ami and Keri recently discovered documents their grandparents had as it relates to the case. They learned their grandfather went to the site where Pooley's body was found.
"Knowing that my grandfather took these, went to the site where she was left to, you know, just left it’s disturbing and very sad," Keri said.
They also found newspaper clippings, a letter their grandparents wrote to a Kenton County judge and a copy of her death certificate.
"On her death certificate it lists her cause of death as homicide but they couldn’t determine based on autopsy examination," Keri said.
Ami started a petition in 2019 to keep Wilson behind bars. They’re asking the community to help them petition the parole board.
"We also would like people to write to the parole board and ask that he never be released," Ami said.
To contact the parole board about this case, the family said to e-mail its victim services.
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