WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A man who kidnapped 9-year-old Nancy Shoemaker and watched as the Wichita girl was raped and strangled in 1990 has been granted parole, her family said.
Her father, Bo Shoemaker, said that the family was notified of the decision to grant parole to Donald Wacker.
Wacker and Doil Lane snatched the girl off a busy Wichita street on July 30, 1990 and drove her to a field in Sumner County where Lane raped and strangled her with a belt as Wacker watched. Her body was found seven months later.
“All we know for sure now is that the board granted him parole and he will be released on or after November 1,” Bo Shoemaker said, adding he was also told Wacker needed to meet some unspecified criteria before release.
The Kansas Department of Corrections said it will be unable to release information until April 3.
Wacker was given a 16-year to life sentence in 1992 for kidnapping and aiding a felony in connection with Nancy’s abduction and death. Lane was convicted and sentenced to life without parole for 66 years. He is serving a life sentence in Texas for a similar crime there.