Board denies parole to man convicted of kidnapping, raping and murdering young women in McHenry and Cook counties

The Prisoner Review Board has denied parole to a serial killer convicted of kidnapping, raping and brutally murdering three young women in McHenry and Cook counties.

The Illinois Prisoner Review Board on Thursday denied parole to 75-year-old Mark Smith.

Smith was convicted of triple murder in Illinois in 1970.

Prosecutors said he kidnapped, raped and brutally murdered a young woman in each of the three incidents.

Two of the murders occurred in McHenry County. The third occurred in Cook County.

Smith was sentenced by the Illinois Department of Corrections to a total of 500 years in prison for the three murders.

Defendants sentenced to life in prison in Illinois before 1978 may apply for parole after serving 20 years.

Every three to five years, Smith’s parole eligibility is reviewed by the Illinois Prisoner Review Board.

The proceedings force the victims’ relatives to “relive their nightmare of Smith’s possible release,” the McHenry County District Attorney’s Office said.

Smith was also convicted of the rape and murder of another woman in Arkansas.

He also confessed to several murders of young women in Germany, where he was stationed with the Bundeswehr in 1969, prosecutors said.

The McHenry County District Attorney’s Office invited several family members of the three Illinois victims to present their objections to the parole board during a hearing on August 21.

Detective Chief William Bruce represented the McHenry County District Attorney’s Office on behalf of all victims in Illinois, including the Cook County victim, as the Cook County District Attorney’s Office no longer participates in parole hearings.

McHenry County District Attorney Patrick Kenneally said he acknowledged the “sincere and vigorous objections” raised by the victims’ families to the Illinois Prisoner Review Board, as well as the numerous letters from the public objecting to Smith’s release on parole.

After the parole board’s decision, Kenneally said he was “very grateful” that the board denied Smith’s parole and granted his office’s request to extend the next hearing from three to five years, providing some relief to the families.