MASTERS MURDER CASE Victim's parents oppose parole

The parole board said Masters has obeyed prison rules.
By WILLIAM K. ALCORN
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
CANFIELD -- The parents of a woman murdered 25 years ago by her husband are opposing parole for the husband.
Joy and Bill Thomas, whose daughter Jodi was murdered Feb. 15, 1979, by Steven Masters, have requested a hearing before the Ohio Parole Board to protest Masters' parole, which is scheduled for June.
Masters' third request for parole was recommended by the Ohio Parole Board in February, reviewed April 22 by the Central Office Board, which subsequently granted parole effective on or after June 14.
In recommending parole, the Ohio Parole Board noted that Masters has consistently obeyed prison rules and used his time for constructive purposes, and had no criminal record before the murder.
No notification
But those are not good enough reasons to set a double felon free, said Joy Thomas, who is "livid" because she was not informed by the parole board of its action and had to find out through the press.
The Victims Services office of the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections was supposed to notify the Thomases immediately by letter, but didn't, Mrs. Thomas said.
Finally last Saturday, three weeks after Masters' parole was approved, the Thomases were officially notified by letter from Ohio Parole Board Chairman Gary Croft. In Croft's letter, they were told they could petition for a full board hearing on the matter.
"We feel the decision was grossly unfair, and we definitely will apply" for the hearing, Thomas said.
To that end, Mrs. Thomas sent a certified letter Monday to Victims Services seeking the hearing, which is up to the parole board to accept or deny, she said.
The crime
In 1980, Masters, then 20, was sentenced to life in prison for the aggravated murder of his wife, 19-year-old Jodi; and to six to 25 years for aggravated arson. It was believed he set fire to their Boardman home to cover up her murder. She had been shot in her bedroom. Authorities believed Masters wanted to collect $170,000 in insurance on their home and on her life. Masters is housed at the Pickaway Correctional Institution in Orient, Ohio.
If granted a hearing before the full board, Thomas said she and her husband will be given a combined 10 minutes to make their case for denial of parole for Masters.
Reasons
They have listed several reasons why they think Masters' parole should be denied:
He is a double felon, and as such should never be considered a good risk for parole; his crimes were unprovoked; he did not act in self-defense; he contrived an alibi; his unpredictable and deceiving nature represents a threat of risk and retribution to our family; he committed these crimes and their cover-up with a high degree of prior calculation; we believe he planned these crimes before he married Jodi.
If given the opportunity, Thomas said, "We plan to ask the board to weigh these reasons for denial against the observations of the parole board that Inmate No. A157973 [she will not use his name] exhibited good behavior, made constructive use of his time in prison, and had no prior criminal record.
"We want the board to give great consideration to the personal pain and suffering of our family. It is lingering and pervasive," Thomas said.
"For 25 years, we have felt secure that no reprisals could come to us. Now, that feeling of security has disappeared," she said.
"If ever a [parole board] decision cried out for reversal, this is it," she said.
alcorn@vindy.com