Man who raped, killed South Dakota woman in 1980 paroled

MOBRIDGE, S.D. (AP) – A man who served 23 years in prison for raping and killing an 18-year-old South Dakota woman in 1980 will soon be free.

The state Board of Pardons and Parolees says 54-year-old Nicholas Scherr will be released once a parole plan is ready. Scherr pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter for fatally shooting Candace Rough Surface, the mother of a 2-year-old boy, in Walworth County.

That child is now 41. Homer Rough Surface says he was unaware his mother’s killer had been granted parole.

Scherr was 15 when he and his 16-year-old cousin, James Stroh, met Rough Surface in Mobridge. The case was solved in 1995 when Stroh’s former mother-in-law told authorities about how Stroh and Scherr raped and killed the woman. Stroh also pleaded guilty to charges, cooperated with investigators and was released in 2004.

AP-WF-05-03-19 1320GMT