Theresa Parker 41, Missing 911 Dispatcher , GA 3/21/07(Remains Found)

[MuffyBee]

http://www.chattanoogan.com/articles/article_184640.asp
    Remains Of Theresa Parker Found South Of Summerville
Body Found Near Chattooga River
September 22, 2010


The Georgia Bureau of Investigation has found the remains of Theresa Parker, the long-missing Walker County 911 operator, in Chattooga County.

The body was found south of Summerville near Fullerton Road near Lyerly, Ga., on Monday afternoon. The location is about 30 miles south of LaFayette.

The GBI confirmed on Wednesday, through forensic evidence including dental records, that it was Ms. Parker, who had been missing for three years and six months.

Chattooga County Sheriff John Everett said a farmer called at 1:19 p.m. Monday saying he had found a jawbone. He said the site was secured and more skeletal remains were found several hours later. Additional remains were found the next morning.

The farmer had been looking for driftwood or walking sticks.

The location was on the east side of the Chattooga River some 500 yards off a dirt road. The location is near the Alabama line.

Authorities said there was no indication that there had been a burial.

A forensic anthropologist is examining the body to try to determine the cause of death.

Walker County Sheriff Steve Wilson said authorities had never given up finding Ms. Parker and were engaged in a search in another area on Wednesday.

The sheriff said he informed Ms. Parker's mother and her two sisters on Wednesday. He spoke with the mother and one of the sisters in person.

Prosecutor Leigh Patterson said family members "had been holding out some hope that she might come back."

Ms. Parker was last seen on the night of March 21, 2007.

Her estranged husband, former LaFayette Police Sergeant Sam Parker, was found guilty of her murder and was sentenced to life in prison last September.

The location of the body was about 12 miles from where Sam Parker grew up.

Prosecutor Patterson said Sam Parker was gone two and a half hours to three hours when authorities believe he was disposing of his wife's body. She said, "He would have had plenty of time, then some," to take the body from the couple's home on Cordell Road to the site where the body was found.

Parker at one time said he thought Ms. Parker was still alive and hinted that she might have run off with someone. He at one time said she might be in Mexico.

He had also bragged that he was able to dispose of a body so that it would never be found.

There had been searches for Ms. Parker in four North Georgia counties.

Once the cause of death has been determined, the body will be released to the family for burial.

Ms. Parker had been moving out to a townhome in Fort Oglethorpe at the time she disappeared. That last night she had gone late to the Cordell Road place to retrieve some items.

[Bearlyhere]

RIP Teresa.  Prayers for all who love you.

It looks like heaven wanted to erase all doubts about Teresa running off with Elvis and led the farmer right to her.

 

[2NJSons_Mom]

Hallelujah!  Teresa's remains have been found!  There have been times I've wondered if maybe she had been hidden too well, or her body was made to be unrecoverable.  I hope her remains and forensics can tell us what happened.  Praying for justice for Teresa Parker.   

Me, too, MuffyBee.   

[MuffyBee]

http://daltondailycitizen.com/local/x124774099/Theresa-Parker-s-body-found-more-than-three-years-after-disappearing
Theresa Parker’s body found more than three years after disappearing
September 22, 2010

LAFAYETTE — Three years and six months after she disappeared, the biggest part of the mystery of what happened to Theresa Parker has finally been solved.

Walker County Sheriff Steve Wilson, along with members of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, the Sam Parker prosecution team and other Walker County officials, said Wednesday afternoon that remains found Monday near the banks of the Chattooga River had been positively identified as belonging to Theresa Parker.

“I would say that justice has prevailed,” said Wilson “The Almighty has looked down, and for whatever reason prayers have been answered and she has been found.”

Theresa Parker, a 911 dispatch operator in LaFayette, disappeared in the early morning hours of March 22, 2007. Her estranged husband, Sam Parker, a LaFayette police officer, was convicted of her murder in September 2009 and sentenced to life in prison. It was a rare case in that his murder conviction was attained without the presence of a body.

But it was precisely because no body had been found that Theresa Parker’s family never gave up hope that she would be found alive.

Even though that hope is now gone, officials are grateful that the long and painful search for her is now at an end.

According to Wilson and Chattooga County Sheriff John Everett, a farmer in Lyerly, a small community near the Alabama border in the far southern corner of Chattooga County, was walking through a wooded area on the eastern side of the Chattooga River Monday afternoon searching for usable driftwood and potential walking canes when he found a human jawbone and immediately called authorities.

Everett assembled a search team with the help of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, and later that afternoon, more human remains were found in the same general area. As the light was falling, investigators halted the search for the night, and came back the next day with an larger entourage of GBI officials. More remains were found Tuesday, and all the evidence was surrendered to the GBI. Wednesday morning, forensic anthropologists announced that the remains were positively identified as those of Theresa Parker through a dental record match.

“This kind of ties up all the loose ends,” said Wilson. “Even though it's sad ... we can send her back home and let her family give her a proper burial and a proper memorial service that she so deserved. We've all felt the urgency and need to recover her remains and bring her back so that she can rest in peace.”

Officials were unable to comment or speculate on exactly how Theresa Parker’s body ended up in that spot, and whether that was the original place where her body was deposited. It is possible that her body was in or moved by the river at some point, but there is no definitive evidence to that fact as of this time.

The location where she was found is approximately 30 miles from her home in LaFayette, and just 12 or so miles from where Sam Parker was born and raised.

Throughout Sam Parker’s trial, witnesses maintained that he had frequently bragged that he knew the local woods well enough to ensure that he could successfully hide a body if need be.

The couple was in the midst of getting a divorce when Teresa Parker was last seen leaving her sister’s home on the night of March 21, 2007. Family members said the Parkers had a history of domestic problems.

Sam Parker’s attorney, public defender David Dunn, declined comment.

Sam Parker was fired from the LaFayette Police Department months after his wife’s disappearance for having explosives in his locker at work. He had been with the department about 25 years.

Prosecutors used circumstantial evidence at the trial, developing a timeline that showed how he could have committed the crime and disposed of the body. Defense attorneys said there was no direct evidence that Theresa Parker had been harmed or that her husband had anything to do with her disappearance.

Wilson and other investigators notified Theresa Parker’s family as soon as they received the positive identification on Wednesday.

“Now that (Theresa’s mother) can put to rest her mind, now that she knows Theresa has passed, she can enter an appropriate time for the grieving process without that doubt (that she may be alive),” Wilson said.

“Without that farmer is it fair to say that you would not have searched there?” one reporter asked Wilson. “I think that's fair to say,” Wilson replied.

In fact, on Tuesday, as more remains were being found, the GBI was conducting another search for Theresa Parker in a completely different location, just in case. “We never gave up looking for her,” said GBI special agent Jerry Scott. “We were still actively searching for Theresa Parker as of yesterday (Tuesday).”

“This is a long time coming,” said Floyd County district attorney Leigh Patterson, who prosecuted the case. “We have been able to give the family answers. I want everyone to know how hard this team …. worked and the hours they put in.”

David Ashburn, director of the 911 center where Theresa Parker worked, said friends and co-workers were notified. “It’s great we have an answer but it’s terrible it’s not the answer we wanted,” Ashburn said.

The next step will be a more thorough investigation by forensic anthropologists. At this time, it is unknown if Theresa Parker’s remains will reveal any signs of struggle or trauma, and authorities are unable to speculate on the matter. Once the investigation is finalized, the remains will be turned over to Theresa Parker’s family for burial.

As of Wednesday evening, Sam Parker had not yet been notified of the findings. He does have an appeal in the works, but at this point, hinted investigators, his main defense that Theresa Parker had simply run away is completely moot.

[MuffyBee]

http://www.wrcbtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=13208508
(video)
Theresa Parker's Stepfather talks, Police search for more clues
September 23, 2010

CHATTOOGA COUNTY, GA (WRCB) -- Deputies were back out in those woods, Thursday, looking for more clues in the case of Theresa Parker.

The goal was to use a leaf blower to clear out the area in case something was buried under the brush.

While Police search for more clues, the family searches for some type of closure.

"We sure would like to meet him if that is possible,"  says Greg Careather, Theresa's stepfather.

Careathers says the family hopes to one day meet the man who found her the remains Monday.

A jaw bone was found on this property near the Chattooga river. Thursday deputies returned in hopes to find more clues.

Careathers says he never saw this news coming, but held on to hope.

"Did you ever think they would find her? No. To tell you the truth no. Did you give up? No we didn't give up," says Careather.

Now the family can start the healing process. Careathers says that won't be an easy road to travel. The  news of finding the remains has raised fresh emotion.

"It'll take some time for her. Right now it is just hard," says Careather.

Sheriff Steve Wilson says the search was concentrated to Walker and the surrounding counties because Sam Parker was known to be in those areas.

Wilson says with this discovery they can learn more about her death.

"I think this ties up all the lose ends, even though that is a sad statement," says Walker County Sheriff Steve Wilson.

Careather says the family has been grieving since the bones were found but is thankful for the time and resources police agencies put into finding Parker.

"They went out and look for her, they did the best they could and they come up with really good police work," says Careather.

The GBI will continue to search the area for more remains as the family waits to receive the body.

The family says they will plan a memorial service for Parker at that time.

In the meantime, lawyers for Sam Parker have started the appeal process. Parker is serving a life sentence.

[MuffyBee]

http://www.newschannel9.com/news/parker-994861-sam-theresa.html
( watch video)
Where Theresa Parker's Body Was Hidden
September 23, 2010


This is the area where searchers cleared the underbrush as they searched for Theresa Parker's remains. It's not clear who fashioned the makeshift cross.

NewsChannel 9 has listened to the 911 call made by the man who found Theresa Parker's remains in Chattooga County, Ga. earlier this week. He described the location off Fullerton Rd., near the Chattooga River about a mile from the Alabama state line.

Investigators cleared out an area where the man found the jawbone and found even more remains.

NewsChannel 9 spoke with people in the area. They say they're not surprised. They say it is a dark road and not well-traveled.

Bdelia Ball said, "There's access to the woods, the river, the mountains. Where else would you throw an innocent person but on a dirt road like this. I would say it' the perfect spot to commit a crime."

Carrie Morrison told us several other bodies have been found in that area. She said, "There was one off Lylerly road and another in the Summerville area. It's secluded... people don't want to fight all the bushes in the woods."
(snip)

[MuffyBee]

http://wdef.com/news/theresa_parker_investigation_far_from_over_some_still_have_doubts/09/2010
Theresa Parker Investigation Far From Over; Some Still Have Doubts
September 23, 2010

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation continues to search for clues in Chattooga county after confirming that remains found there on Monday were those of Theresa Parker.

There now some answers about what happened to the Walker county 9-1-1 supervisor three and a half years ago, but there are also many questions.

Former Lafayette police sergeant Sam Parker was sentenced to jail for life last September for the murder of his wife, Theresa, but his main defense in the trial fell apart Wednesday.

Local and state officers announced the remains found by a farmer near the Chattooga river on Monday were indeed hers.

Parker, who was a suspect from the first day in March of 2007 when she went missing, had maintained she ran off to Mexico.

That cinches it in the minds of some----but there is still an active investigation underway.

DAVID ASHBURN, WALKER CO. 911 DIRECTOR "The fact that the GBI is still..along with the other law enforcement agencies ...Doing the complete analysis of the remains..and trying to understand what type trauma may have occured...was she shot, stabbed, or whatever...you know all that is yet to come."

Fort Oglethorpe television host Judy O'Neal never believed Parker was guilty.

Has that changed?

JUDY O'NEAL, TELEVISION PERSONALITY UCTV "I still feel that way...in a way..and until he says he did it..it would be hard for me." BUMP 34:16 "I just never felt like he lied..course, the rest of the community..there's very few people who feel the same way I do."

O'Neal did a lengthy interview on-air with Sam Parker before his trial.

JUDY O'NEAL "And I asked him..you've got the tape....did you kill her? And he said "no'..you know it took a lot of guts for me to look this man in the face and say, did you kill your wife?"

But, Ashburn, who was Theresa's boss at the 911 center, never doubted the jury's verdict.

DAVID ASHBURN "Everybody is still waiting for the definitive answer...what really happened..who killed her..will he ever say, 'yeah, I did it' ..you know...'you got me!'.

Family members told us they are just glad it's almost over.

State investigators will hold the bodily remains until a cause of death has been determined before returning them for burial and a memorial service.

Sam Parker's attorneys are planning an appeal of his life sentence handed down last year.

If a judge grants a new trial, prosecutors could ask for the death penalty based on the finding of Theresa Parker's remains.

[MuffyBee]

http://romenews-tribune.com/view/full_story/9638585/article-DA-says-location-of-Parker-s-remains-consistent-with-evidence-presented-during-trial?instance=home_news_lead_story
Patterson says location of Parker's remains consistent with evidence presented during trial
September 23, 2010

The location where Theresa Parker’s remains were found is consistent with the evidence she presented during the Sam Parker trial, Floyd County District Attorney Leigh Patterson said Thursday.

Patterson, who served as a special prosecutor in the case, submitted cell phone signal triangulations as evidence to pinpoint where Sam Parker had been on the night Theresa Parker disappeared.

By determining the location where Sam Parker was on that night, it was extrapolated that Theresa Parker’s body was dumped not far away.

“We always thought she was somewhere between LaFayette and Trion,” Patterson said, basing that estimate on Sam Parker’s patterns of movement the night of March 22, 2007.

Theresa Parker, a 911 dispatcher in LaFayette, disappeared in the early morning hours that day. Her estranged husband, Sam Parker, a LaFayette police officer, was convicted of her mur-

der in September 2009 and sentenced to life in prison even though a body had not been found.

Authorities announced Wednesday that Theresa Parker’s skeletal remains were found near the Chattooga River off Fullerton Road in Chattooga County.

“Well (the location where Theresa Parker’s remains were found) certainly fits the area that he could have concealed her body and been back where he needed to be by the timeline we showed in the trial,” Patterson said.

And as for Sam Parker, his appeal will go on, according to Patterson.

“It wouldn’t have mattered if we had had a conviction with a body or without a body, an appeal would have happened anyway as a matter of course,” she said.

“His whole defense was that she had run off. Well this shows that she didn’t run off,” Patterson added.

Neither Patterson nor anybody at the Georgia Bureau of Investigation can yet say exactly how Theresa Parker’s remains ended up in that remote riverbed. One of the most popular theories now is that last winter’s flood had something to do with how her remains were deposited.

“(The flood) certainly was an anomaly for this area,” Patterson said.

Meanwhile, residents of the rural Chattooga County area where Theresa Parker’s remains were found Monday are saddened over the latest development in the case.

“It’s scary, this close to home. I thought all along he had killed her but that he had gotten rid of her in LaFayette,” said Loretta Reynolds of the Chattoogaville community. “I am just glad they found her, but this is just awful.”

Now, any lingering doubts over Theresa’s whereabouts have been put to rest.

“That’s been the third body they’ve found by the river this year,” said Carrie Morrison, also of Chattoogaville. She lives about three-quarters of a mile from where Parker’s body was found.

Morrison said she had seen and heard emergency vehicles on the scene Monday at noon, but had no idea another body had been found.

[Nut44x4]

(?????? They have their answers...he's been convicted and sentenced! PERIOD)

Searching For Answers After Theresa Parker's Body Found

Updated: Friday, 24 Sep 2010, 10:44 AM EDT

WALKER CO., GA. - The day after investigators announced they found the remains of Theresa Parker, there are still many unanswered questions. People from Walker and Chattooga Counties who knew Parker spoke out about the finding of her bones.

video at link MUST WATCH
http://www.myfoxchattanooga.com/dpp/news/local/searching-for-answers-after-theresa-parkers-body-found

[MuffyBee]

http://romenews-tribune.com/view/full_story/9650751/article-Police-finish-probe-of-area-where-Theresa-Parker%E2%80%99s-remains-were-found?instance=home_news_lead_story
Police finish probe of area where Theresa Parker’s remains were found
September 24, 2010
Authorities have finished their investigation of the rural Chattooga County site where Theresa Parker’s skeletal remains were found.

Besides bones, they found a pair of size-8 Old Navy jeans, a bra, a portion of a sock, Chattooga County sheriff’s investigator Mark Schrader said.

The items were deteriorated but will be analyzed forensically to see if they were in fact Parker’s and to preserve any possible DNA or clues to her cause of death.

“Nothing more than remains and clothing were found,” Schrader said

Authorities on Wednesday announced that the remains of Parker had been found.
(snip)

[MuffyBee]

http://www.wrcbtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=13214395
(video)
Farmer who found Parker remains: "It's blind luck"
September 24, 2010

CHATTOOGA COUNTY, GA. (WRCB) - It's a discovery that put to an end to the search for Theresa Parker.  She'd been missing for more than three years.  Now, her family can finally get some closure.

The farmer who cracked the case says stumbling across Theresa Parker's jaw bone was nothing more than pure luck.  He shared his story with Channel 3 Friday.   

The farmer says he's found animal bones and tortoise shells by the river bank before, but as soon as he picked the jaw bone out of the mud he knew it was human.

David Ledbetter has been a farmer his entire life, he says "It's just another day's work to me".

It wasn't just another day's work, although Ledbetter says, when he found a bone sticking out of the mud. He was only taking a quick break from picking corn.

"I said, we better report this," he says.

The farmer pulled the jaw bone out, and showed it to his nephew.  That's when they called 911.

"On the Chattooga River, we're picking corn," says Michael Womack on the line to dispatchers Monday.  "My uncle was looking down on the riverbank.  We found what we believe to be a human bone."

The farmer had no idea he's just solved a 3-year-old cold case.  After showing deputies the area where the bone was found, Chattooga County deputies continued searching into the night.

"I didn't go down there to find that," says Ledbetter.  "I went down there to watch the ducks fly off the river."

After uncovering more remains police concluded their search Thursday.  A conclusion officials at Wednesday's press conference called a combination of, "justice and divine intervention".

But to David Ledbetter it's a little more simple. "It's blind luck, you know," he says.

After Ledbetter's discovery, deputies worked the scene for 8 hours Monday night, but didn't find anything.  When crews returned Tuesday they found a backbone, tailbone and legs.

[MuffyBee]

http://www.newschannel9.com/news/parker-994907-family-wilson.html
Theresa Parker's Family Wants Her Funeral Open to the Public
September 24, 2010

Open Arms:

Theresa Parker's brother-in-law says they're waiting for investigators to return Parker's remains to the familiy. When that happens, he says Parker's funeral will be open to the public.



We're hearing more from the family of Theresa Parker, the Walker County 911 worker whose remains were found Tuesday three-and-a-half years since she went missing.

Parker's brother-in-law Jon Wilson says they always held out hope that Parker was still alive. Now with the news that her remains were found, they're figuring out how to move forward.

Wilson says his family had managed to get by since his sister-in-law disappeared March 21, 2007. But then Tuesday, they got the call they'd been dreading.

"We were just doing every day things and when you get the call, everything changes,"

Wilson and his wife Hilda, Parker's sister, dropped everything and drove from their home in Florida to be with their family, and visit the site where a farmer found Parker's jawbone in Chattooga County.

"How the family feels is kind of second to what I think of and we think of as far as what (Theresa) went through."

Now the family is waiting on investigators to finish examining Parker's remains so she can return to her family and have a proper burial. Wilson says the funeral will be open to the public.

"The people that's prayed for us and kept searching for her, we're not gonna close those people off," Wilson said. "If they wanna come they can sure be a part of it."

As for Sam Parker, who is serving a life sentence for his wife's murder, Wilson says he always knew Sam was responsible for Theresa's disappearance. At his trial, Parker denied killing his wife and said she ran away to Mexico with an Elvis impersonator.

"We kept telling everybody, she's not that type of person. She was a family-oriented person that loved her family. Loved her nieces and nephews. In my eyes she was just a saint," Wilson said.

There's no word on when Parker's remains will be turned over to her family.

[MuffyBee]

http://romenews-tribune.com/view/full_story/9717724/article-GBI-completes-examination-of-Parker%E2%80%99s-remains--no-details-released-?instance=home_news_lead_story
GBI completes examination of Parker’s remains; no details released

 September 30, 2010


The Georgia Bureau of Investigation on Wednesday, Sept. 29, completed its examination of Theresa Parker’s remains, said GBI public relations official John Bankhead said.

Her remains are now being transferred to Walker county coroner Dewayne Wilson, one step closer to being returned to the family.

No details on the results of the investigation are being released at this time.
(snip)

[MuffyBee]

http://www.wrcbtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=13246712
Examination of Theresa Parker's remains finished
September 30, 2010

WALKER COUNTY, GA (WRCB) -- Investigators may be one step closer to knowing what killed Theresa Parker.

A farmer found her remains last week in a rural part of Chattooga County.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation has finished its examination of her remains. The results must be released through the district attorney's office.

Parker's body will be returned to her family within the next few days. They tell Eyewitness News, they are planning a funeral.    

Theresa Parker disappeared in 2007. Last year, a jury found her husband, Sam Parker, guilty of her murder. He was sentenced to life in prison.
(edit to change spelling of name in subject title-MuffyBee)

[Nut44x4]

No cause of death; still listed as homicide

Theresa Parker Death Ruled Homicide, Though Exam Showed No Specific Injuries
posted October 1, 2010

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation is terming the death of long-missing Walker County 911 dispatcher Theresa Parker a homicide, though no specific new information was uncovered in an examination of her body.

The GBI said Friday, "The recovered remains of Theresa Parker have been carefully examined by the GBI Medical Examiner's Office. Thorough examination of the recovered remains did not reveal any evidence of specific inflicted traumatic injury that would have caused her death.

"Based upon the examination of the remains, the cumulative circumstances surrounding her disappearance, and the investigation conducted by law enforcement, Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Kris Sperry is classifying the manner of death as 'homicide'."

The body of Ms. Parker was found last week in woods near the Chattooga River in south Chattooga County, Ga.

Her estranged husband, Sam Parker, is serving a life prison sentence for her murder.
http://www.chattanoogan.com/articles/article_185360.asp

(edit to correct name in subject title.  MuffyBee)

[NickandNora]

I didn't see this posted and thought others may like to see it. RIP Theresa. You are dearly missed.


Theresa Parker Memorial Service
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9fLwB5DTfI

[KittyMom]

There was no doubt in the minds of those in the area that Parker murdered Theresa.  I'm glad that she was found and that her family no longer has to wait on that call.  Bless them.

[Nut44x4]

  Gettin' old Sammy...........




Sam Parker to seek motion for new trial
by Christi McEntyre
Mar 30, 2012

Sam Parker, the former LaFayette police officer convicted in 2009 of wife Theresa Parker’s murder, is coming back to Walker County to seek a motion for a new trial.

Parker was booked into the Catoosa County jail on Thursday, March 29, on a hold for Walker County.

According to Walker County sheriff Steve Wilson, Parker’s hearing for a motion for new trial will take place sometime in mid-April.
 ::snipping2::

At this time, Wilson affirmed that he is unsure of what Parker’s chances may be of obtaining a new trial, or what, if any, new evidence may be brought to the table.

http://www.catoosanews.com/view/full_story/18061200/article-Sam-Parker-to-seek-motion-for-new-trial-?instance=home_Most_popular

[MuffyBee]

"Gettin' old Sammy ....."     Don't do the crime if ya' can't do the time!!  Thank you for the update Nut. RIP Theresa   

[KittyMom]

Love it!  Ole Sammy ain't the 'man' he used to be.  I'll bet he's real popular in the pokie, being a wife-killing dirty cop.  Yep.  He's paying for his crime the best way possible.

Rest peacefully, Theresa.