Gayle Gilbert Benavidez, who pleaded guilty last year to murder in the 1976 rape and beating death of a 24-year-old woman, will have a parole hearing in 2029 — when he will be 72.
The Utah Board of Pardons and Parole announced Tuesday that it had scheduled the parole hearing for Benavidez, who killed Carolyn Waite Sarkesians on March 7, 1976, behind the Salt Lake City halfway house where he was staying.
Benavidez was an immediate suspect, but it was not until 2004 that he was linked to the murder through advanced DNA technology.
Sarkesians had gone downtown to see a boyfriend when Benavidez, then 18, dragged her behind the halfway house, where he was staying after serving a brief prison term for the 1974 rape and beating of a 15-year-old girl.
Benavidez also has another rape conviction on record and had been in and out of prison for parole violations.
At his sentencing last May 26, he said, "I want to apologize for my actions as a youngster. At age 18, I had some outrageous thoughts. I've come a long way since then."