Monessen Man Appeals Life Sentence For Rape, Child Murders He Committed At Sixteen

[Sugar Cookie]

Defense attorney Mark Shire argued in an appeal that a judge abused his discretion by reimposing a life prison sentence for a Monessen man convicted of raping of a young mother and murdering her children in 1973, his attorney claims in court papers.

In an appeal of the new sentence handed down June 27, Shire contends Westmoreland County Common Pleas Court Judge Michael Stewart II failed to take into consideration John Veltre Jr., 69, growth while in prison and other mitigating factors that qualify him for a potential release.

“The trial court’s feeling that the defendant has not grasped the gravity of his offenses and is unable to express meaningful remorse is against the weight of the evidence and unfairly punishes the defendant for the effects of his upbringing, low IQ, compromised thought processes and limited vocabulary,” Shire wrote.

Veltre was a month shy of his 17th birthday when prosecutors said he barged into a Monessen home, raped a 24-year-old woman, then killed her 2-year-old and 3-month-old daughters.

Veltre’s original sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole, plus an additional 14 years behind bars, was vacated in 2016 after state and federal court rulings determined juvenile offenders cannot be subject to mandatory life sentences.

Following a daylong hearing last month, Stewart resentenced Veltre to life in prison, citing the violent nature of the crimes and saying the public could be at risk should he be released from confinement.

In the court filing, Shire claims Stewart erred by not adequately considering Veltre’s ongoing maturity and rehabilitation while behind bars, his poor upbringing and home life, intellectual limitations and mental health diagnosis.

Monessen man appeals life prison term for rape, child murders

A judge abused his discretion by reimposing a life prison sentence for a Monessen man convicted of raping of a young mother and murdering her children in 1973, his attorney claims in court papers. Defense attorney Mark Shire argued in an appeal filed Friday that his client, John Veltre Jr.,

triblive.com

”I am an advocate for second chances when they are appropriate — however, some crimes are just too heinous and harmful to the community to warrant relief,” Attorney General Sunday said. “The nation’s highest court has ruled that juveniles sentenced to mandatory life in prison terms be reviewed and reconsidered. That review was done in this case, and we are thankful the re-sentencing court agreed with our assessment that John Veltre remains a threat to free society.

”I cannot fathom acts more violent and vicious than what took place here: a baby and toddler were brutally murdered and a mother raped and beaten, only surviving due to her own determination and strength, not because of any mercy shown by a callous killer who left her to die with her children.”

https://www.attorneygeneral.gov/taking-action/man-re-sentenced-to-life-in-prison-without-parole

Police said Veltre raped and brutally beat the young mother in Monessen in 1973.

As she lay unconscious, Veltre went upstairs to the older child’s bedroom, picked her up by her ankles and repeatedly slammed her against a wall, then stomped her to death before he went into a second bedroom, took the baby from her crib and threw her across a room, causing her death.

He jumped out of a window to flee the scene.

Susan Worlton read her mother’s written statement in which she told the judge what she remembered from the attack.

“I opened the door and he immediately started beating and raped me. I thought I was dead when he went upstairs and killed my babies. They were not a threat to him. He took away my future,” she wrote. “Please resentence John Veltre to prison. Knowing he is in prison is my only security. If he is released I will never leave my home again. I’ll never sleep again.”

Defense attorney Mark Shire asked Veltre what he remembers from the night of the murders.

“I thought I was fighting aliens but I was really killing two kids instead,” Veltre testified.

He told the judge he now spends his days mostly alone as he listens to radio and watches television and works a maintenance job in prison.

He said he does not associate much with his fellow inmates and wants to be released to a mental health facility where he can “play games all day.”

Veltre also addressed his victim and her two surviving daughters.

“I am sorry,” Veltre said. “I think about the crimes every day. I cannot get it out of my mind.”

Read complete article here

Former Monessen man resentenced to life in prison for children’s murder in 1973

Susan Worlton only knew her sisters from her mother’s stories and the few pictures that remain. In a courtroom Friday, Worlton told a Westmoreland County judge how the violent murders of her sisters five decades earlier have impacted her family. She and her mother were among the witnesses at the

triblive.com

He needs to die in prison!

 

[thuumpr]

View attachment 186287

Monessen man appeals life prison term for rape, child murders

A judge abused his discretion by reimposing a life prison sentence for a Monessen man convicted of raping of a young mother and murdering her children in 1973, his attorney claims in court papers. Defense attorney Mark Shire argued in an appeal filed Friday that his client, John Veltre Jr.,

triblive.com

https://www.attorneygeneral.gov/taking-action/man-re-sentenced-to-life-in-prison-without-parole

View attachment 186288






Read complete article here

Former Monessen man resentenced to life in prison for children’s murder in 1973

Susan Worlton only knew her sisters from her mother’s stories and the few pictures that remain. In a courtroom Friday, Worlton told a Westmoreland County judge how the violent murders of her sisters five decades earlier have impacted her family. She and her mother were among the witnesses at the

triblive.com

He needs to die in prison!

I bet the victims believes that however given the opportunity, would help that death along.

 

[cubby]

He said he does not associate much with his fellow inmates and wants to be released to a mental health facility where he can “play games all day.”

He has not progressed, maturity wise, much beyond basement gamer troll level. He would not do well unsupervised and would most likely lean on the ways he used previously to get thru the day. You know killing aliens, better known as a mother and her children.

 

[Kleng]

If he's 63 and his maturity is "ongoing" that should be enough to make him unfit to be part of society again. Let him rot where he's at.

 

[420702]

If he was an illegal immigrant he would be immediately realessed without bail.

 

[420702]

He has not progressed, maturity wise, much beyond basement gamer troll level. He would not do well unsupervised and would most likely lean on the ways he used previously to get thru the day. You know killing aliens, better known as a mother and her children.

Tobin in the basement

 

[BuffettGirl]

If he was an illegal immigrant he would be immediately realessed without bail.

11,888 known murderers were...

 

[Sugar Cookie]

From Oct 23, 2025

A judge has rejected an appeal from a Monessen man who has spent 50 years in prison for the 1973 murders of two young children and the rape of their mother.

Attorneys for John Veltre Jr., 69, claimed that Westmoreland County Common Pleas Court Judge Michael Stewart II abused his discretion when he imposed new life sentences without the possibility of parole and a consecutive 7- to 14-year term behind bars.

A state appeals court previously ruled his initial punishment imposed in the late 1970s was illegal. The new sentences imposed by Stewart were nearly identical to what Veltre received following a retrial in 1978.

Veltre was two months shy of his 17th birthday in 1973 when police said he broke into a Monessen apartment, brutally raped a woman then killed her daughters, ages 2 and 3 months.

His sentence was vacated after the state’s Supreme Court in 2016 ruled it improper for juveniles to automatically receive life prison sentences without the possibility of parole. Only in extreme cases can life sentences be imposed, the court said.

During a hearing in late June, Veltre claimed he has reformed his life over the last 20 years, as he has served time in a unit that caters to special needs of inmates and provides intense oversight. In his appeal, Veltre claimed Stewart ignored his efforts to rehabilitate himself and that the judge gave undue weight to crimes he committed as a juvenile prior to the rape and murders.

In an 11-page opinion, Stewart refuted those allegations.

“Let the court be abundantly clear, after taking into consideration all the evidence entered … it finds defendant has not fully grasped the severity of the crimes he committed nor the necessary steps he must take to achieve rehabilitation,” Stewart wrote. “The court finds defendant unable to fully comprehend that his heinous actions killed the lives of two small children and nearly ruined the life of … (their mother).”

Veltre’s victim and her two surviving daughters testified at a hearing this summer and asked that Veltre remain in prison.

Judge upholds life sentences for Monessen man in 1973 rape, double murder case

A judge has rejected an appeal from a Monessen man who has spent 50 years in prison for the 1973 murders of two young children and the rape of their mother. Attorneys for John Veltre Jr., 69, claimed that Westmoreland County Common Pleas Court Judge Michael Stewart II abused his

naviga.triblive.com

 

[sgr1966]

Good I'm glad he's not getting out. Disgusting.