Victim: Penny Brown, 39
Age at time of murder: 15
Crime location: Salamanca
Crime date: Mother’s Day, 1999
Crimes: Rape & murder
Weapon: Dog leash
Murder method: Strangulation
Conviction: Guilty plea to second-degree murder
Sentence: Nine years to life
Incarceration status: Incarcerated at the Elmira Correctional Facility and eligible for parole in August 2021
Summary
Kindt attacked Penny while she was jogging and raped her and strangled her to death. He pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and was sentenced to nine years to life.
Details
Examples of Juvenile Murderers
Murder of Penny Brown
On Mother’s Day, 1999, Penny Brown, a 39-year-old midwife, nurse, and mother of two, went for a jog on a trail with her two dogs in Salamanca, New York. But she never got to come home because of choices made by an extremely violent 15-year-old named Edward Kindt. Kindt attacked the mother, raped her, strangled her with a leash from one of her dogs, and buried her beneath a pile of leaves, branches, and twigs.
Kindt to stay in prison;Parole denied for rapist, murderer
Salamanca Press
SALAMANCA – Jerry Lockwood said he is satisfied that the community will be safer for the next two years, since a state parole board has denied parole for Edward Kindt.
Kindt was just 15 when he raped and killed Lockwood’s daughter, Penny Brown on Mother’s Day 1999.
On May 1, 2000, Edward Kindt was given the maximum sentence for the murder of Penny Brown, nine years to life in prison. Because of his juvenile offender status, he was not to be held criminally responsible for his actions. If he had been just two months older, he would have received the maximum adult sentence – 25 years to life. An adult charged with the crimes Kindt committed would have been eligible for the death penalty.
Sibyl Lockwood, Penny’s mother, said the family believes that the letter writing campaign they organized shortly after the first of the year, was responsible for convincing the parole board to keep Kindt behind bars.
The family requested people to write letters to the parole board, but address them to the Lockwoods.
“We read every single one of them,” Sybil said of the 437 letters that were received. The letters came from all over western New York and came from doctors, lawyers, office workers, friends and former patients of Penny Brown.
The Lockwoods took these letters with them when they met March 14 with a representative of the parole board, along with Under Sheriff, Tim Whitcomb, who some of the investigation at the time of the crime.
Frustration and anger over what was believed to be an injustice became the basis for a grass-roots campaign to change the juvenile sentencing law for murder in June of 2000. State Senator Catherine Young worked along side the Lockwoods to fight for the passing of “Penny’s Law,” New York State Assembly Bill #A.1628, named for Penny Brown, was then drafted. “Penny’s Law” originally sought to eliminate the sentencing distinction between juveniles and adults for juveniles who are convicted of murder as adults. In other words, while juveniles can be tried as adults for murder, they still must be sentenced using juvenile guidelines in New York State. “Penny’s Law” was originally drafted to ensure that those young killers who are tried as adults for committing cold-blooded murder would also be eligible for the adult sentence.
Young continues to keep in close contact with the Lockwood family.
Although “Penny’s Law” might keep future young killers from receiving juvenile sentences, the family of the late Penny Brown must still live with the future possibility of Kindts’ release from prison. He was denied parole this time, but he will be eligible for parole again in another two years.
“It’s set in stone and there isn’t a darn thing anybody can do about it,” said Sibyl.
“Our community must be protected from having this felon in our midst. As time passes and Kindt becomes eligible for parole, I hope this Court, and this community will do everything in it’s power to prevent his release and keep society safe from this predator,” said Jerry.
The Lockwoods both said they wanted to thank those that took the time to write letters on their behalf.
“I think they made an impression on the parole board and now Salamanca will be a safer place,” said Jerry.
Kaitlyn Brown, who was 14 years old when her mother was murdered, is now a 22 year-old college student in Chicago. Although she is happy that Kindt was denied parole, she said she finds the situation upsetting.
“I could be fighting this same battle every two years for the rest of my life,” she said.
The younger Brown daughter, Bradleigh, is now 19 year old and a student in Rhode Island.
“It’s wonderful to see how strong the girls are. They certainly are stronger than I am,” said Sibyl.
Edward Kindt denied parole in Penny Brown murder
SALAMANCA — Edward Kindt, the convicted killer of Salamanca resident Penny Brown on Mother’s Day 1999, has been denied parole.
Sibyl Lockwood, Mrs. Brown’s mother, said she was notified by the New York state Division of Parole on Friday that Kindt, now 30, had been denied parole last week for the fourth time by the parole board.
“I got the call Friday that his parole had been denied,” Mrs. Lockwood said Monday.
She was thankful but doesn’t like the prospect of him coming up for parole every two years. It stirs up bad memories, she said.
“Every two years we go through this,” Mrs. Lockwood said.
In addition to her letter to the parole board urging them not to release Kindt, Mrs. Lockwood and her family members urge friends to do the same every time Kindt comes up for parole.
Kindt was 15 when he strangled Mrs. Brown. Because he was not yet 16, he could not be sentenced to a higher minimum sentence.
Kindt was sentenced by then-judge Larry Himelein in Cattaraugus County Court to nine years to life in prison, which was the most allowed by law.
State Sen. Catharine M. Young, R-Olean, who became close to Mrs. Lockwood and her late husband, Jerry, sponsored and helped pass Penny’s Law, which set higher minimum sentences for juvenile killers in New York.
Mrs. Lockwood said she was somewhat pleased Kindt remains in a maximum-security facility in the state, but she didn’t know which one.