It's been decades since John Tidwell was convicted of murder for the death of a Trumbull County industrialist. But he could soon be a free man. 

Seventy-year-old Tidwell pleaded no contest to the 1973 murder of industrialist C. Walter Holmquist and his wife in their Cortland home. 

Tidwell was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 15 years. 

Tidwell was accused in reports at that time, of shooting the Holmquist's with a shotgun during a burglary. Archive reports say the Holmquists were found in a basement recreation room. 

Both had been shot at close range with a shotgun, according to reports. 

Tidwell was indicted on multiple charges in 1977. 

The following year, Tidwell was reportedly convicted of first-degree murder in Orange County California. 

In that case, court records say Tidwell was accused of killing a coconspirator in a California burglary. 

Tidwell was later sentenced to "an indeterminate life sentence." Court records indicate Tidwell has repeatedly filed for parole, which has been denied numerous times. 

Court records say that during at least one of the parole hearings, officials said that once Tidwell was released from California custody, he would be returned to Ohio. 

Friday afternoon, Tidwell was booked into the Trumbull County Jail. By Monday morning, he had been sent back to the Lorain County Correctional Center to await a hearing on potential parole. 

As part of the 1980 no contest plea, Trumbull County officials agreed that they would not oppose any attempt by Tidwell to be released on parole. 

Tidwell was 25-years-old at the time of the Holmquist's murder.