A former Westmoreland County man has been resentenced to life in prison for brutally attacking a woman and killing her two young children more than 50 years ago, Attorney General Dave Sunday announced Monday.
John Veltre, now 69, was originally sentenced to two life terms, but was eligible for resentencing after the US Supreme Court ruled that all mandatory life terms for juveniles be reconsidered. On June 27, he was resentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
According to a release, the Office of Attorney General argued that Veltre should not be granted early parole because his crimes were so “depraved,” and he has also not taken full responsibility for his actions.
”I am an advocate for second chances when they are appropriate — however, some crimes are just too heinous and harmful to the community to warrant relief,” Attorney General Sunday said in a release.
In 1973, Veltre entered a young mother’s apartment. Authorities said he murdered both an infant and a two-year-old child after he brutally raped and assaulted their mother.
The children died of blunt force trauma injuries, and the mother was left for dead, but she survived.
”I cannot fathom acts more violent and vicious than what took place here: a baby and toddler were brutally murdered and a mother raped and beaten, only surviving due to her own determination and strength, not because of any mercy shown by a callous killer who left her to die with her children," Sunday said.
Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts.
Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW
©2025 Cox Media Group
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/XCUXZC2XYZHCRGNNGKFEX6U3LQ.png)
