HONOLULU -- A man convicted of a 1992 murder case in which a body was never found went before the parole board for a hearing on his sentence.

Jenaro Torres, 59, was convicted of killing Ruben Gallegos after 15 years of denying it.

"Not knowing where Ruben is, if he's out in the ocean somewhere, if he buried him, what did he do with him -- just to have our closure," Gallegos' sister, Blanca Lerma, said.

Gallegos disappeared in 1992. It was his first day as a cashier at Pearl Harbor. He was last seen with Torres a uniformed military police officer, who authorities later caught with $78,000 in his trunk.

Lerma had hoped that while asking for parole Torres would end the mystery of what happened to Gallegos.

"It's like an open wound that continues to go on every day, year after year, not knowing where our brother, our loved one is," Lerma said.

"I extend my apologies for your hardships," Torres said at the hearing.

It appears the lack of a body is an issue in Torres' appeal.

"The body was never recovered in this case and there are some legal issues regarding what has to be proven corpus delicti," defense attorney Cynthia Kagiwada said.

Torres said he could discuss the case in more detail in the future depending on his appeal.

"Then I will take it upon myself at that time to do what is right," Torres said.

Lerma will return to Texas without an answer she hoped for.

"His words were, 'If I don't win, well then I'll let you know where Ruben is.' That's what I got out of it," Lerma said.

The Hawaii Paroling Authority usually takes a couple weeks to decide when an inmate is eligible for release. The prosecutor asked for 50 years for Torres. His attorney asked for 15.