BUFFALO, N.Y. — The daughter of a woman raped and killed by a man in Cattaraugus County almost 25 years ago is reacting after learning he escaped from parole supervision in Dutchess County.
Not only did Edward Kindt get away but authorities say it took days for any notification of sheriff's deputies and Penny Brown's family to know where he was. He was taken into custody in the early morning hours of Friday.
Kaitlyn Brown, who is Penny Brown's daughter puts it this way: " I'm exhausted. I'm irate. It's unthinkable."
Brown was trying to grasp the news that Edward Kindt who was convicted and sentenced to prison for the Mother's Day 1999 rape and strangulation death of her mother Penny Brown in Salamanca was able to get out of his monitoring device and escape last week from parole supervision in Dutchess County.
He was sent there after being granted parole by a state panel in March of last year.
Brown adds "There was a complete lapse of communication all along the line. He was not far from my house. He was loose for six days. Impossible to go through the red tape of trying to get even the most basic communication from Victim's Services who is our only liasion with this nightmare of a system. There have been some major, major errors made. I think we are all looking at that right now in a way that you can't look away from."
Kindt was arrested without incident at 1:40 Wednesday morning on West Avenue in Salamanca at his family member's home after Cattaraugus County sheriff's deputies were finally notified by state parole that he was on the loose.
Cattaraugus County Undersheriff Eric Butler told 2 on Your Side: "I think frustration is a polite word for it. I'm angry."
He said this situation without prior notification was "Very unique for something like this to happen without us getting a phone call. I just don't understand that. There is really no explanation that I was satisfied with."
The sheriff's office reports formal notification was made around 10 PM by State Parole that Kindt had violated the terms of his parole by being off GPS monitor and by leaving his transitional housing without authorization.
They had secured a warrant for his arrest as a parole absconder.
New York State Senator George Borrello who opposed the parole for Kindt and has called for reform and the appointment of new parole board members said "How did someone with such a horrible history - how could they not have been closely monitoring him? He went six days missing."
Borrello and State Assemblyman Joseph Giglio have sent a joint letter to Governor Kathy Hochul calling for KIndt to be placed back in state prison and for reforms in the state parole system. Borrello has pointed out Kindt's previous behavior problems and other issues while he was in prison.
Borrello has also introduced bills calling for an overhaul of the state parole board. It was supported by Kaitlyn Brown who had more to say for the public. "My family spent 25 years fighting the justice system to try in the hope that our family and other families would never be experiencing what we are today. We were promised, we were told that wouldn't be granted parole with the nature of the crime. He never should have been released in the first place. And you know I wasn't just the victim in 1999. I'm a victim right now."
A State Department of Corrections spokesman sent this information: "On July 16, Edward Kindt made an office report with his Parole Officer in which he was advised to report to the office next on July 23. On July 23, Kindt did not make his scheduled office report, and Community Supervision staff’s attempts to locate him at his approved residence, along with other locations, were unsuccessful. While his Parole Officer attempted to locate him in the field, Community Supervision staff simultaneously used data from his GPS device to determine his last known location and issued an absconder warrant, and Office of Special Investigations staff generated a Be On The Lookout (BOLO) and All Points Bulletin (APB) to local law enforcement agencies. Through coordination with local law enforcement, Kindt was arrested in the early morning hours of July 24.
Kindt will be held at the Dutchess County Jail pending the outcome of the parole violation process. The investigation is ongoing.