New Jersey State Department of Corrections
Killer blames mental illness for parents’ murders in Ho-Ho-Kus, says he’s ready for freedom after 30 years in prison
SATURDAY MARCH 8, 2014, 11:51 PM
BY ABBOTT KOLOFF
STAFF WRITER
THE RECORD
Richard Spillane, bald and gaunt after almost 30 years in state prison, says the mental illness that led him to murder his parents in the family’s Ho-Ho-Kus home has been under control for years. He takes anti-psychotic medication, he says, and no longer hears the voices he believed were sent into his brain by CIA computers.
Soon, he expects to go before the state parole board for the first time to argue that he is ready to be a free man.
During a recent interview at East Jersey State Prison in the Avenel section of Woodbridge, the 52-year-old Spillane said he has worked hard to prepare for possible release this spring, learning computer programming and studying law in the prison library. Yes, some family members have said they are afraid of him and have been dreading his parole eligibility for 30 years. But Spillane, his voice soft but intent, said he’s no longer dangerous after years of medication and self-examination
