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Man Who Killed Six Children Up For Parole

CHICAGO (CBS) -- A 79-year-old Rockford man is up for parole again -- 33 years after being convicted of killing all six of his children.

After being denied more than a dozen times, the parole process for Simon Peter Nelson is beginning again, Newsradio 780's Steve Miller reports.

Nelson was convicted of the 1978 murders of his six children -- hitting each of them in the head with a rubber mallet then stabbing them in the neck.

Ken Tupy, legal counsel for the Illinois Prisoner Review Board, was present a few years ago when a board member spoke with Nelson.

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"Simon Peter Nelson was able to state that he remembers starting to go upstairs to the kids' bedrooms," Tupy said. "And then the rest of it was blank to him. He couldn't remember any details."

All six children were killed -- and so was the family dog.

Tupy says an Illinois parole board member is meeting with Nelson -- then next week, a board member will meet with people who don't want Nelson to get parole.

The full board is expected to decide on June 23.

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