Man convicted in double homicide rejected in his eighth attempt at parole

A West Virginia man, who was convicted in the 1976 killing a man and his 16-year-old stepson, was rejected in his eighth attempt at parole by a state parole board, according to authorities.

Franklin Loftis, 67, of Charleston, W.Va., was denied release by the S.C. Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services during his eighth attempt for parole, according to records.

Loftis was convicted May 4, 1984, of two counts of murder in the shooting deaths of Harry Koch, 50, and his 16-year-old stepson, Carl Derk.

Loftis was sentenced to two life sentences in addition to a five-year sentence for criminal conspiracy in the deaths.

Koch, the owner of the defunct Magic Harbor Amusement Park just south of Myrtle Beach, and his stepson were shot to death outside their trailer at the park shortly after it closed on Labor Day 1976. Koch's wife, Carol, narrowly escaped by hiding under the family trailer.

During his trial prosecutors said Loftis, a former carpenter at the amusement park, was angered at Koch and his family when he was injured on the job and experienced delay in getting workers' compensation.

Before Loftis' arrest in 1982, the case was considered Horry County's oldest unsolved crime.

This story was originally published November 15, 2010 at 9:40 AM with the headline "Man convicted in double homicide rejected in his eighth attempt at parole."