Convicted killer tells parole board he doesn't remember brutal murder

NATICK, Mass. — A Lynn man convicted as a teenager for a brutal murder in the 1980s is trying to get out of prison.

"I have a hard time remembering a lot of stuff," George Christopher MacNeill told a state parole board Tuesday.

George MacNeill told the state parole board his memory is bad he can’t remember the details of the brutal strangulation murder of his ex-girlfriend, Bonnie Sue Mitchell in a Lynn Cemetary back in 1981.

PREVIOUS: Parole hearing set for man convicted of killing teen 37 years ago 

MacNeill, in his fifties now, was a teenager then.

He was originally sentenced to life without parole, but that was reduced to life with parole after a Supreme Court ruling on sentences for teenage killers.

He appeared before the parole board for the first time, soft spoken, rocking back forth in his chair, claiming he didn’t remember past statements to police or even his own trial testimony.

He claims, he suffers from lost time…

"How do you know you killed Bonnie?" MacNeill was asked.

"Because when I came back to reality I was sitting on the floor in the restroom. She was in my arms," MacNeill replied.

MacNeill's attorney is trying to persuade the parole board to release MacNeill into mental health treatment, saying that he suffers from anxiety and depression.

Bonnie Sue Mitchell's family filled the hearing room. This is the first time they’ve seen MacNeill since his conviction and they don’t believe him.

"I have to believe half of that is an act. If it's not an act they got him so full of drugs he's acting like a zome. We didn't get anything out of this," said David Beals, Bonnie Sue's brother.

"He knew what he was doing, he said he knew what he was doing. This man is going to hurt someone else, he should not get out," said Marlene Penfield, Bonnie Sue's sister.

The parole board's decision could take months.

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