Parole denied for Modesto man convicted in notorious 1979 Ranzo double murder
More than a year after California’s parole board voted to release him, a Modesto man convicted in a notorious double murder has again been denied parole.
Darren Lawrence Lee, 63, was denied parole following a hearing before the California Board of Parole Hearings at San Quentin State Prison, Stanislaus County District Attorney Jeff Laugero announced Monday. Deputy District Attorney Amy Neumann appeared on behalf of the prosecution.
Lee is serving a sentence of 25 years to life for his role in the June 25, 1979, murders of Phillip and Kathryn Ranzo during a home invasion robbery in Modesto.
According to the District Attorney’s Office, Lee and three accomplices targeted the Ranzo home believing it contained a large amount of cash. Prosecutors said the group approached the residence armed with firearms and rope, deceived Phillip Ranzo into letting them inside, then forced him into the garage at gunpoint, where he was hogtied, tortured and repeatedly beaten.
Kathryn Ranzo was forced upstairs at gunpoint, tied up, assaulted and robbed while the home was ransacked, prosecutors said. The couple’s bodies were discovered the following day. Phillip Ranzo had been beaten and fatally stabbed, while his wife had been struck repeatedly with an ax and fatally stabbed.
The decision marks a reversal from January 2025, when the parole board voted to grant Lee parole after determining he qualified for elderly parole and youthful offender considerations and did not pose an unreasonable risk to public safety. At the time of the crimes, Lee was 16 years old.
During this most recent hearing, prosecutors argued that Lee continued to minimize his role in the killings, lacked sufficient insight into the crimes and still needed drug rehabilitation programming. The District Attorney’s Office said surviving members of the Ranzo family attended the hearing and urged the board to deny his release.
The Board of Parole Hearings ultimately found that although Lee qualified for elderly parole and youthful offender considerations, he still posed an unreasonable risk to public safety. His parole was denied for three years.
According to the District Attorney’s Office, this was Lee’s 10th parole hearing.
Lee was one of four teenagers convicted in connection with the killings. Their original sentences of life without the possibility of parole were later modified to concurrent terms of 25 years to life because of their ages at the time of the offenses.
This story was originally published June 15, 2026 at 5:13 PM.
