UPDATE: The parole board voted 2-1 to grant Chenevert's parole. Read the full update here: https://www.wbrz.com/news/despite-pleas-from-victims-families-double-murderer-with-life-sentence-gets-parole

BATON ROUGE - There will likely be little sleep tonight for the families of two murder victims who will be anxiously anticipating what the parole board will do Monday with the man who killed their loved ones.

David Chenevert was convicted, and admitted to, the grisly murders of Evelyn McIntyre and Michael Brown more than 40 years ago.

Though he was originally sentenced to life, a recent parole board decision put his chance at freedom up for debate on Aug 8.

"Why is he up for parole?" asked Michael Brown's ex-wife, Judy Poche.

For the two families of the victims, the slow-healing wounds of a 40 year old tragedy have been ripped open.

"The district attorney told [us] that he would never see the light of day. He would never get out. And here we are," McIntyre's sister said.

In 2021, the Louisiana Board of Pardons voted to reduce his sentence to 99 years with immediate parole eligibility.

"In this case, in such a violent crime--there's people who have done way far less that I know their files are sitting on [the Governor's] desk to be paroled. How did his climb up the ladder so fast?" asked Brown's daughter Alicia Vaughn.

Governor John Bel Edwards signed off on the decision, granting his parole hearing Monday and telling The Investigative Unit he's confident the board will make the right choice.

For the families, that choice is clear.

"He's not lily-white. He's the devil and I feel like the governor and the parole board is making a deal with the devil," McIntyre's bother said.

Chenevert's hearing is at 8 a.m. Monday at the Department of Corrections.