A man convicted in the 1990 killings of a Palmyra teenager and the toddler she was babysitting has been released from prison and transferred to a residential program.
Chad Campbell, now 50, was moved from Sullivan County to a community-based residential program in Erie County after the New York State Board of Parole ruled in November that he could be released as early as March 12.
Campbell had been in state custody since 1996. He was convicted of two counts of second-degree murder in the deaths of 15-year-old Cindy Lewis and 17-month-old Curtis Rizzo.
Authorities say Campbell was 14 years old in 1990 when he raped and stabbed Lewis, a classmate, in the Village of Palmyra. Lewis had been babysitting Curtis Rizzo at the time of the attack. The toddler was also killed.
Campbell was sentenced to 18 years to life in prison. Officials say he had been denied parole several times before it was recently granted.
According to reports, both the Wayne County District Attorney and members of the public opposed Campbell’s return to Wayne County. He has instead been placed in the residential program in Erie County as part of his release.
