Getting Answers: Convicted double-murderer Jeffrey Maria released from prison Monday, what are his parole conditions?
SACRAMENTO -- A convicted double-murderer behind bars for more than 40 years now walks free.
Jeffrey Allen Maria was released from prison Monday, Sept. 4 after a years-long parole battle. He is the first of four crime partners to win back their freedom.
Maria, Marty Spears, Ronald Anderson and Darren Lee were all teenagers when they ambushed, tortured, raped, and brutally killed Philip and Kathy Ranzo at their Modesto home.
The four were found guilty of first-degree murder and were each sentenced at the time to two life sentences without the possibility of parole. They were re-sentenced in the 1980s to serve two consecutive life sentences with the possibility of parole.
Maria was granted parole for a fourth time in April 2023. Each time before, the decision was reversed by then-Governor Jerry Brown.
In July, Governor Gavin Newsom opted not to deny parole and instead referred the final decision back to California's parole board for a final hearing.
Wednesday, Aug. 23 the board ruled for a final time to grant Maria's release, despite cries from the Ranzo family to keep him behind bars.
"The family of Phillip and Kathy Ranzo miss them every day and our pain will never end. Governor Newsom has opened the gates of prisons and communities are no longer safe," the Ranzo family told CBS13 in a statement upon Maria's release Monday.
Special prosecutor Beth De Jong has fought alongside the Ranzo family for decades to keep their four killers behind bars.
"Life sentences don't exist anymore in California," said special prosecutor Beth De Jong. "Governor Newsom had the power to prevent this atrocity yet he failed to do so. He has failed the Ranzos and failed the citizens of this state. We are no longer safe. I fear what it will take to swing the pendulum. But it's coming. How could it not with the floodgates wide open?"
Under California's youthful offender considerations, Maria is now the first of the four to win his freedom.
De Jong says his release is a failure of the state's criminal justice reform that, while well intended, should not allow people like Maria to be free when the brutality of the crimes is considered.
"It's torturing them, it's using pickaxes on their eyes, hogtying them, raping them. It's not a simple youthful offender crime. They are sophisticated," said DeJong.
The Ranzo family told CBS13 they have been left in the dark about much of Maria's release. They got a call on Tuesday, Aug. 29 letting them know that Maria would be released from prison on Sept. 4.
CBS13 reached out to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) to get answers on the conditions of Maria's release.
"He will have a three-year maximum parole term with a parole discharge review after one year," said a spokesperson.
CDCR says it cannot tell CBS13 where exactly he will be released or the exact conditions of his parole.
Several of CBS13's questions to CDCR were not answered, including how long he has to live in transitional housing, if there are any restrictions on where he is allowed to live, and if ankle monitoring is included in his conditions of parole.
"By law, CDCR is limited in what it can disclose about people who are incarcerated or on parole and is unable to provide specific information on parole conditions," said a spokesperson for CDCR.
The Ranzo family told CBS13 that a parole agent told them Maria is expected to live in Sacramento, not Modesto.
Maria's wife of 14 years Michaele Beebe-Maria confirmed that at his final parole hearing.
"Working in partnership we bought a home in Sacramento. Jeff will be busy fixing it up. Jeff also has transitional housing in place. They will assist him with integration back into society," Beebe-Maria told the parole board.
She added that Maria continues to express remorse over his involvement in the murders and has grown as a person in the four decades since.
"He understands that without his participation, this crime may very well have never happened," Beebe-Maria said. "He will not be a danger to society."
Mark Ranzo, son of Philip and Kathy, has had the same mindset since the day he was orphaned about the release of any of his parents' four killers.
"If I could walk out of that penitentiary with my parents, let him free. But if I can't, do not let them go," Mark told CBS13 at Maria's final parole hearing.
He says the community is not safe with Maria a free man and fears he will reoffend.
The Ranzo family has stay-away orders for Maria that will last the entirety of the three years he is on parole before expiring.
