Board denies parole for Nevada prisoner who killed his wife

After an 11-year fight for justice in Las Vegas, Oregon resident Michelle Perkins says she can finally breathe.

On Wednesday, Perkins was emailed a letter notifying her of the Nevada Parole Board’s decision from a Sept. 21 hearing regarding inmate William Sites, 78. The letter informed her the board had decided to deny parole until October 2021.

“I’m honored and humbled by their decision,” Perkins said. “I’m thankful. I can breathe now — the monkey is off my back.”

Sites murdered Perkins’ biological mother, Jan Sites, in 2005. Perkins never had the chance to meet the woman, who was married to William Sites.

The inmate will be eligible for parole in another five years, and Perkins said she will come back to Las Vegas if necessary.

“I’m relieved going forward,” she said. “I can’t bring my mom back, but in her honor I want to be able to help someone else, be a voice.”

Perkins, who was adopted as an infant, had only begun to form a relationship with her mother before her death. She volunteers at a domestic violence shelter in Oregon, and last month she attended the hearing in Las Vegas to speak against parole for William Sites.

Contact Raven Jackson at rjackson@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0283. Follow @ravenmjackson on Twitter.