MIDDLEBORO – A man imprisoned for killing a 79-year-old Middleboro man during the course of a 1986 robbery appeared before the parole board in Natick Jan. 8 to ask for his release, which Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy J. Cruz testified against.

Michael Eagles, now 59, and co-defendant Jeffrey Roberio were found guilty in 1987 of first degree murder and armed robbery in connection with the slaying of Lewis Jennings of Middleboro. 

On July 29, 1986, Roberio and Eagles made a plan to break into Jennings’  home and steal a large amount of cash, Cruz said. During his hearing before the state parole board, Cruz reported, Eagles stated his motive for the robbery was to fuel his drug addiction.

The pair broke into the Middleboro home and beat Jennings while demanding to know where he stored his money, Cruz said. Roberio and Eagles stole Jennings’ money and left him badly injured.

Jennings died from his injuries. An autopsy found Jennings’ spine had been fractured, an elbow had been dislocated, several ribs and neck bones had been fractured. He also suffered extensive injuries to his entire face, Cruz stated.

Eagles was convicted in 1987 of first-degree murder and sentenced to life without  possibility of parole. In 2024, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled that life sentences without parole are unconstitutional when applied to adults 18 to 20.

As a result of this decision, Eagles became eligible for parole. He was 18 at the time of the murder. 

Eagles does not deserve parole, Cruz argued to the board. 

“Sitting through this parole board hearing, we are reminded of the pain and suffering that the …. families have had to endure,” Cruz told the  board. “We live in a world where defendants are treated as victims, and the real victims  are seated over there. In my opinion, this man should not be released.” 

A decision by the parole board is expected in Eagles’ case in the coming  months.