Pamela Smart's teen lover who killed her husband gets parole

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CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — The triggerman in the Pamela Smart murder trial was granted parole Thursday, nearly 25 years after he killed his school instructor's husband and launched a global spectacle packed with lurid details of sex and manipulation.

William Flynn was 16-year-old "Billy" in 1990 when he and three teenage friends carried out what prosecutors said was Pamela Smart's plot to murder Gregg Smart. Flynn pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and was sentenced to 28 years to life in prison, minus time served before trial.

The trial was a media circus and one of the first high-profile cases about a sexual affair between an instructor and student. It inspired the Joyce Maynard novel "To Die For," which in turn was made into a movie starring Nicole Kidman.

"It's your birthday," said Donna Sytek, chairwoman of the three-person state board. "We're granting you the privilege of parole."

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