APPEAL DENIED FOR MONESSEN MAN

An appeal has been denied for a Monessen man who’s spent the last 50 years in prison for a brutal 1973 crime. Attorneys for 69-year-old John Veltre Jr. argued that Westmoreland County Judge Michael Stewart abused his discretion when he re-imposed two life sentences without parole, plus seven to fourteen years for rape. Veltre was just two months shy of his 17th birthday when police said he broke into a Monessen apartment, raped a woman, and killed her two young daughters. His original sentence was vacated after a 2016 state Supreme Court ruling found automatic life sentences for juveniles unconstitutional. But in the re-sentencing, Judge Stewart said he took all factors into account and concluded Veltre still doesn’t fully understand the severity of his crimes.