A man who is serving time for the March 1971 kidnapping and murder of 10-year-old Tona Worthington was denied parole Thursday.

James Duke Creel, 74, is currently behind bars in a Texas Department of Criminal Justice prison facility.

Creel's parole review began in September and the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles decided Thursday to deny him parole.

Creel has been denied parole several times over the years. He will not be eligible for another parole review until Sept. 1, 2015.

"Praise the Lord we don't have to worry about this for another 3 years," Carla Worthington Whitehead, one of Tona's family members, said.