Columbus, Ohio - The one-time disciple who testified against his leader Jeffrey Lundgren about the Kirtland cult killings is expected to be released from prison as early as March 29.
Richard Brand, 46, has only to file a plan detailing where he will live once released. When that plan is approved, he will be released from prison on or after March 29, a spokeswoman for the Ohio Parole Board said.
He will have served 16 years in prison. He was sentenced in 1994 to 15-years-to-life after he was convicted of five counts of murder.
The March 29 release date comes just weeks before the 21st anniversary of the April 17, 1989, execution-style murders of cult members Dennis Avery, 49 and his wife, Cheryl, 46 and their daughters Trina, 15; Becky, 13 and Karen, 7. They were duct-taped, tossed into a grave, and shot to death one at a time.
Brand assisted Lundgren in killing the Averys. He later testified against Lundgren, providing details of the murders that helped convict the cult leader and others, in exchange for a chance at parole one day.
Lundgren and nine of his followers were eventually arrested, following a nationwide manhunt. Lundgren was caught near the Mexican border in California.
Lundrgren said he was "commanded by god" to kill the family in a barn on his farm in Kirtland. Lundgren was executed for the murders on Oct. 24, 2006.
U.S. Rep. Steve LaTourette, a Republican from Bainbridge Township, was the Lake County prosecutor when the case was tried. Because of the snow-related power outage in Washington, D.C., LaTourette could not be reached to comment Wednesday.
All 10 members of the cult were convicted of charges ranging from conspiracy to commit murder to aggravated murder. Only Jeffrey Lundgren was given the death penalty. His wife, Alice Lundrgen, was sentenced to 150-years-to-life; his son, Damon, was sentenced to 120-years-to-life; Lundrgen's right-hand man, Ronald Luff, was sentenced to 170-years-to-life.
Brand was sentenced in 1994 had been denied parole three times in the past. There was a full board hearing on Jan. 27 during which three members of the victims' family spoke in opposition to the release.
In granting the parole, the Ohio Parole Board stated that Brand had "made a positive institutional adjustment and has extensive community support for his release on parole at this time."
