WATKINS GLEN, NY (WENY) -- A Schuyler County man serving life in prison for murdering a teenage girl almost 24 years ago will remain behind bars. 

The Schuyler County District Attorney announced the New York State parole board denied the application for parole for Joshua Horein, following a parole interview in April. Horein was 16-years-old when he killed 15-year-old Amber Brockway of Watkins Glen on August 5, 2000. Brockway was beat to death in an abandoned building near Seneca Lake.

Horein pleaded guilty to second degree murder in April of 2001, and was sentenced to 20 years to life in prison, where he remains incarcerated at Fishkill Correctional Facility in Beacon, New York. He became eligible for parole in 2019, and has been denied release several times, most recently in 2023.

According to District Attorney Joe Fazzary, the parole commissioners noted concern that Horein was still "casting some blame on the victim." The DA said Horein has also written an apology letter to Brockway's mother, which could be construed as intimidation. A separate letter to DA Fazzary reported blamed the district attorney, and the legal system for putting a 16-year-old Horein in prison for life.

Horein is eligible for another parole hearing in June; the District Attorney's office says it, along with Amber Brockway's family will oppose his release.