NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. (WIVB-TV) – A convicted killer is about to be freed, more than 16 years after his role in the brutal murder of a Niagara Falls teenager.
Kyle Cummings is the first of three convicted murderers to be released from prison. He was granted parole by a parole board in August.
Cummings was sentenced in 2003 to 6 years-to-life in prison for the 2002 death of Jennifer Bolender.
His brother, Christopher Cummings, and another man, Daniel Pardee, remain behind bars.
DECEMBER 2002
It was snowy in December 2002 when a passerby saw a lifeless body on the pedestrian bridge over the LaSalle Expressway.
Police identified the body as that of Jennifer Bolender, 16, who had been stabbed, beaten, and left to die.
Investigators say she was stabbed almost 50 times
The murder rattled the Niagara Falls community.
Daniel Pardee was identified as the main killer. Prosecutors say he attacked Bolender on the pedestrian bridge when she refused his affection.
Brothers Kyle and Christopher Cummings – teens at the time – were also charged as adults in her death.
OCTOBER THROUGH DECEMBER 2003
Their trials were held throughout 2003.
Kyle Cummings was sentenced to 6 years-to-life for second degree murder, Christopher Cummings was sentenced to 9 years-to-life for second degree murder, and Pardee was sentenced to 25 years-to-life in prison for murder and first degree conspiracy.
Jennifer Bolender’s mother, Tina, has been outspoken since the trials that the sentences for the two brothers was too light and recently went viral in a public Facebook post, letting the community know that Kyle Cummings was getting out.
PRESENT DAY
News 4 reached out to the NYS Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS) to confirm her announcement.
A DOCCS spokesperson said Kyle Cummings was granted parole and could be released between now and October 10.
Kyle Cummings received the lightest sentence for being the first to plead guilty and agreeing to testify against the others.
Christopher Cummings’ next shot at parole will be next November of 2020.
Daniel Pardee will not be eligible for parole at all until 2028.
Jennifer Bolender would have turned 33 in August.
