Man convicted in 1995 murder of Arroyo Grande girl has parole denied by governor

ARROYO GRANDE, Calif. - One of three teens convicted in the 1995 murder of a 15-year-old Arroyo Grande girl won't be released from prison.

Earlier this year, Royce Casey, convicted in the death of high school freshman Elyse Pahler, was granted parole suitability. But on Sunday, Gov. Gavin Newsom reversed the parole board's decision.

Casey, along with two other men, Jacob Delashmutt and Joseph Fiorella, have been behind bars for more than two decades now. The three were only teens when Pahler was murdered. Casey, who was the oldest of the three at the time of the murder, is now 43.

In June, San Luis Obispo County District Attorney Dan Dow wrote to Gov. Newsom, and urged him to not allow for Casey's release on parole. Dow argued that Casey remained a threat to the public in his letter.

Dow said that despite decades of imprisonment, Casey has "never adequately explained why he participated in such a sadistic and heinous crime."

Newsom said in his decision that he did not believe Casey had done enough work to "to deepen his insight into the causative factors of his crime and coping skills before he can be safely released on parole."