Petition Aims to Keep Killer of Somers Woman Behind Bars
The grandson of a Somers woman who was viciously murdered in her home in 1980 is attempting to keep her convicted killer behind bars.
An online petition drive sponsored by Bedford resident Brooks Prouty to the New York State Parole Board has accumulated 1,005 signatures as of Monday, including one from State Senator Greg Ball (R,C,I/Patterson), opposing the release of inmate Terry Losicco, who is eligible for parole this month.
“It is clear that Terry Losicco’s release will create a clear and present danger to our community and especially the Prouty family,” Ball said.
On May 25, 1980, Losicco, who was 17 at the time, and David Hollis, 16, both residents of Lincoln Hall with a history of juvenile delinquency, broke into the home of Eleanor and Norman Prouty at 2:30 a.m. seeking cash.
Losicco, armed with a piece of firewood, fractured the skull of sleeping 66-year-old Norman Prouty, who suffered from multiple sclerosis, and then dragged Eleanor Prouty, 67, a retired Readers Digest editor and local civic leader, through the house. Losicco bludgeoned, strangled and stomped on the face of Eleanor Prouty and sodomized her as she lay dying. Her body was later discovered by her nine-year-old granddaughter.
Norman Prouty survived the brutal attack and lived in a nursing home until 1986.
Losicco was sentenced to 27 and one-third years in prison in a non-jury trial by Judge Angelo Ingrassia after being convicted of second-degree murder and 14 related charges. Hollis, who witnessed the crimes but didn’t participate in the beatings, was sentenced to 30 years in jail and was released on parole in 2010.
“This was a terrible crime that impacted many of the families in Somers,” Elizabeth Bergin stated on the petition. “Our family, the Foresters, knew and loved the Proutys. Eleanor was a very caring and loving individual. She was always interested in helping those less fortunate than her own family. It was that caring that gave Losicco the opportunity to do what he did. It was a vicious and horrible assault on two wonderful people. Please do not release this murderer.”
“Ellie Prouty was one of my wife’s and my closest friends despite her being a generation older than we are. She had been our guest for dinner the night she was murdered,” John Warden stated. “The effect on her family and friends was horrible. Terry Losicco should never be released. This was not a crime of passion or the result of a fight or of provocation. His actions were not those of a human being but those of a wild animal. Such a detachment from humanity is evidenced only by incurable psychopaths.”
Losicco has appeared before the Parole Board four times since 2005.
“I was a neighbor of Mr. and Mrs. Prouty. They were a very kind and gentle elderly couple,” Helen Costigan stated on the petition. “Every time I pass their house I am reminded of them and their terrible fate. The murderer was brutal and merciless. Such a person should not be allowed to live among normal, law abiding people. He deserves life imprisonment.”
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