Teenage Prostitute Turned Killer 'Batgirl' Eligible For Parole Nearly 30 Years After Heinous Murder

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — A teenage prostitute turned killer, who murdered a man in his North Sacramento mobile home nearly three decades ago, is now eligible for parole.

Michelle Cummiskey, nicknamed "Batgirl" for the bats tattooed on her arm and drop of blood on her neck, could soon be a free woman.

Twenty-nine years ago Cummiskey was involved in the heinous murder of a retired Air Force veteran and was sentenced to life in prison. Now the family of Philip Inhofer is now waiting to see if she will be granted parole.

In March of 1991, 58-year-old Philip Inhofer was found stabbed to death in his mobile home located on Gardendell Road in Natomas. The suspect was 19-year old Michelle Cummiskey, a woman he had met through an escort service. At one point, Cummiskey worked as a prostitute at the Mustang Ranch brothel near Reno.

According to court records, after the murder, Cummiskey first went to Los Angeles and then to Phoenix in Inhofer's red Mercedes which she has painted silver. She was arrested in Biloxi, Mississippi when a cop pulled her over after noticing she was hauling the Mercedes in the back of a rental truck. The Mercedes' VIN was traced back to the murder victim.

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Cummiskey was extradited back to Sacramento where she confessed to the murder to avoid facing the death penalty. She made the plea bargain, hoping to be paroled when by the time she was 39. Inhofer's family wanted to fight it.

Inhofer's Daughter-in-law Julie Inhofer said this in court: "I think this family has clearly been through enough and I think this family deserves to know that Michelle is going away and staying away. "

The case gripped the Sacramento region at the time. In a statement, retired Sacramento police detective John Cabrera told CBS13, "This was one of the most fascinating cases I worked while in homicide. She did confess to me when I interviewed her in Biloxi, MS."

Cummiskey's latest parole hearing was the day after Christmas. The decision to grant parole becomes final after 120 days, and during that time a review is held by the board's legal office. Parole decisions that are made final are then sent to the governor's office for a 30-day review. If the governor takes no action, then the inmate is scheduled for release.

In total, it takes 150 days and if everything goes Cummiskey's way she could be released in about five months. She is now 48 years old.

Philip Inhofer's family says they have never gotten over his death.