Convicted child killer denied parole in 1984 murder of Nesconset girl, document shows

A convicted child killer imprisoned upstate for the 1984 murder of 12-year-old Jennifer Goff in Nesconset was denied parole in his latest bid to be released from prison, a document shows.

Robert Turley, who is serving a 25-years-to-life sentence in the strangulation death of Jennifer, an honors student, appealed his most recent denial for parole — his eighth — last August. He was granted a new hearing last month, but his petition for parole was denied again.

"Knowing that he's been denied is, of course, a relief," said Barbara Goff, the mother of Jennifer, in a phone call Thursday from Florida, where she lives. "But knowing that at any given time he can challenge that decision is what takes your breath away and your inability to just breathe smoothly." 

Goff received a June 1 letter from the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision advising her that Turley had been denied parole, but it didn't include an explanation, according to a copy of the letter she shared with Newsday. And a transcript of the May hearing was not immediately available, so the parole board's reason for denying Turley was not publicly known.

A spokesperson for the corrections and community supervision department, which includes the parole board, could not be reached for comment. An attorney for Turley also could not be reached. 

Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney, whose office prosecuted Turley and recently wrote to the parole board urging Turley be denied parole, said in a statement Thursday, "I’m satisfied that the proper decision was made in denying this defendant’s release on parole given the violent nature of the crime he committed against a young innocent child.”

Tierney said his office would oppose Turley's release every time he asks for parole. 

"My heart goes out to the victim’s family who have to relive this tragedy each time a parole hearing is conducted,” the district attorney said.

Turley, then a 26-year-old furniture store maintenance worker, fatally strangled Jennifer with a piece of cloth from the dress she was wearing as she walked through a wooded path on her way from a solo shopping trip a few weeks before Christmas. 

He confessed to killing Jennifer to police, but his lawyer later said Turley gave a false confession under duress. Turley testified in his own defense at trial, claiming he had only stumbled upon Jennifer's body. Prosecutors presented evidence showing Jennifer's blood on Turley's clothing. 

Turley was denied parole in 2021 due to his "cruel and violent conduct" in killing Jennifer and the board's estimation that there was a "reasonable probability" that if he was released from prison he would violate the law, according to a transcript of the hearing.

Barbara Goff, now a school nurse living in Coco, Florida, said she received word in late May via telephone from a state official that Turley was denied, followed by the letter. 

Turley's next hearing before the parole board is scheduled for August 2023, a date way too soon, she said. 

"This one, after 38 years, affected me worse than I’ve ever been affected before," Goff said. "It isn’t until now that I feel a little bit better." 

By Nicole Fuller

nicole.fuller@newsday.com@NicoleFuller

Nicole Fuller is Newsday's senior criminal justice reporter. She began working at Newsday in 2012 and previously covered local government.