JANESVILLE, Wis. (WTAQ) - A sex offender from Janesville who killed a neighbor and her 2 teens will get 3 life prison terms when he’s sentenced Tuesday afternoon. The only question for Rock County Circuit Judge Alan Bates to decide is whether 51-year-old James Koepp will be eligible for a supervised release.
A jury found him guilty in February of strangling and stabbing 38-year-old Danyetta Lentz, her 17-year-old daughter Nicole, and 14-year-old son in January of 2007 at their mobile home near Janesville. Koepp’s lawyer said somebody else committed the slayings to rob the family of prescription drugs. But a cellmate said Koepp killed the family so his wife wouldn’t learn about an affair he had with Danyetta Lentz.
Prosecutors said Koepp’s DNA on Danyetta’s clothing and the teens’ fingernails proved crucial in convicting the man. Koepp is currently in prison for a police chase a few days after the murders. In 1983, he was convicted of molesting 2 women at a substance abuse center.
