Day Demands NY Parole Board Keep Paula's Killer Behind Bars

ROCKLAND COUNTY, NY — County Executive Ed Day wrote to Chairwoman Tina Stanford of the New York State Board of Parole Monday to request that the board deny parole to killer Robert McCain.

McCain and his accomplice Richard LaBarbera murdered Paula Bohovesky on Oct. 28, 1980. The 16-year-old had left the Pearl River Library where she worked after school, and was walking the two blocks to her home.

McCain, a drifter and career criminal from Arkansas, and LaBarbera, formerly of Orangetown, had spent the day drinking at a local bar, and saw Paula through the window, according to published reports. She was brutally attacked and killed. They were caught, convicted and sentenced to 25 years to life in prison.

“Let us not forget that this man, Robert McCain, was the initial assailant of Paula Bohovesky, caving her head in with a piece of concrete before sexually assaulting her and leaving her to die. This monster does not deserve to walk free on our streets while our community still suffers from the loss and pain he caused. He committed murder, a crime of permanency, and should be permanently in jail,” Day wrote in the letter.

Supporters of the family ask Rockland residents to go online to sign the Petition for Paula. SEE ALSO: A Petition For Paula

"By signing this petition, you join with the Pearl River and Rockland communities, our local and state officials to help convince the NYS Parole Board to reject his [Robert McCain] appeal for freedom," the petition website states.

Over the heated objections of Rockland residents, LaBarbera was released from prison in 2019. He violated his parole after getting drunk and was sent back to prison, then released again in 2020.

SEE ALSO: Mothers of Murdered Children Deserve Justice Too