Billy Flynn, the man who fatally shot the husband of his New Hampshire high school teacher and lover, Pamela Smart, was released from prison Thursday, June 4, 2015. Screenshot from WCVB
WARREN, Maine, June 4 (UPI) -- The man who fatally shot the husband of his New Hampshire high school teacher and lover, Pamela Smart, was released from prison Thursday after serving nearly 25 years.
William "Billy" Flynn was 16 in 1990 when he shot and killed Gregg Smart with the help of three friends. Prosecutor said Smart, then 22, manipulated Flynn into killing her husband, a crime that would later inspire a novel and the 1995 movie "To Die For" starring Nicole Kidman. Smart, who has long maintained her innocence, remains in prison with a life sentence.
Flynn was granted parole in March, telling the board he will live with the memory of the incident. He pleaded guilty and helped convict Pamela Smart for putting together the crime. Also released from prison Thursday was Patrick "Pete" Randall, who held Gregg Smart at knifepoint while Flynn shot him in the head.
"I will always feel terrible about what happened 25 years ago," Flynn said in March. "Parole will not change that."
On May 1, 1990, Flynn and Randall entered the Smarts' condominium, forcing Gregg Smart to the ground with a knife. Flynn fired a hollow-point bullet into his head.
Author Joyce Maynard, who wrote "To Die For," said the novel was a fictional account of the events, but it may have helped bolster images of Smart as a killer. Maynard recently pleaded to New Hampshire Gov. Maggie Hassan to consider Smart for parole.
"While I have never denied that it was the Smart case that initially suggested the story line of my novel, I have taken pains, whenever asked about this, to reiterate that To Die For is a work of fiction," she said.
"To whatever extent the existence of that film affected attitudes towards Pamela Smart over the years, I can only reiterate: Nicole Kidman did not play Pamela Smart in To Die For. That character was a creation of my imagination. And to whatever extent Pamela Smart's chances for a fair parole hearing may have been affected by my novel, I trust you will do what you can to rectify that situation by giving her the same second chance granted the others involved in that case."
