Imprisoned 28 Years For Murder, Parolee Plans Return To Banning Home

BANNING, CA — The parole wheels are in motion for a 46-year-old Banning resident, imprisoned in 1996 for the shooting death of a German tourist and her husband in Idyllwild.

Thongay Nilakout, 17 at his incarceration, has spent nearly 30 years in Solano State Prison, court records show. Though he was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole, he was a juvenile at the time of his incarceration. A ruling in 2012 stated that such a lengthy sentence was unconstitutional for juvenile offenders, according to a recent report from the Press Enterprise.

Nilakout first became eligible for parole in 2018. He was denied parole in 2019. One of his two accomplices in the fatal shooting remains imprisoned. The victim's daughter, Birte Pfleger, believes he has not done enough to address his anti-social behavior, she told the California Parole Board in a statement. While he has worked as a gardener, barber, and porter, she does not believe he is ready to function in society.

Nilakout, a Laos immigrant, is now 46 years old. He was granted parole in December. However, in May, Gov. Gavin Newsom referred the parole grant for review by the full California Parole Board. Since then, no updates have been made.

A former resident of Banning, indications are that Nilakout plans to return to Banning to live once he is out of prison, according to a recent report from the Press Enterprise.

"He has said that he will go back to where he grew up," Birte Pfleger told reporters. "It is devastating to the community of Banning, which will have a murderer living among residents."

Read the full Press-Enterprise report here.