Man sentenced to life in prison for the 1988 headline-grabbing murders of two siblings approved for parole

HOUSTON - "33 years is a long time to live with this tragedy," said Robin Kelley.

Now in the 9800 block of Airline sits a strip center. But back in 1988, it was a pawn shop owned by Robin Kelley’s family.

"My dad had a lot of successful businesses," she said. "Two pawn shops, a bail bonding business and he owned 15 rental properties. We were comfortable."

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Robin Kelley’s life would be forever changed on August 29, 1988. That’s when police say Ernest Leo Jenkins shot and killed her 26-year-old brother, Mark, and her 20-year-old sister, Kara, while they were working inside the family’s pawn shop.

Jenkins accomplice, Eugene Hart, stood there and watched.

"Kara was shot in the head at the shop, Mark was shot. He was taken to Herman," said Kelley. "He had bullets all in his head. He was not conscious."

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In 1996, Robin Kelley, her parents, and grandmother, became the first family in Texas to witness an execution.

Jenkins was sentenced to death.

"This man would never be alive to hurt anyone ever again, and this man hurt and harmed us forever. It was the right thing to do," Kelley said. "Dad finally spoke and laughed after he saw it."

Eugene Hart was sentenced to life.

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Just days ago, Kelley was told by the parole board, Hart was approved for parole.

"Everything came back, the memories from that day verbatim," she said. "It just brought everything back, all the pain, all the losses."