A Pennsylvania couple is in prison after allegedly luring a man to their home and shooting him to death before slicing up and burning his body.
Terry Parker, 46, and Ronda Parker, 48, allegedly drove around with the victim’s body in the trunk, and kids in the car, and stopped for ice cream after the murder, according to a probable cause arrest document acquired by Law&Crime.
The Parkers, who were married but appear to have split, are charged with conspiracy to commit homicide, abuse of a corpse, and tampering with evidence in the death of Ronda Parker’s lover, Michael Pruitt, 40. Summer Heil, Terry Parker’s 36-year-old girlfriend, faces charges of tampering with evidence and abuse of a corpse.
Troopers from the Pennsylvania State Police arrived at Ronda Parker’s home in Springfield Township, northeast Pennsylvania, at 7:20 a.m. Monday, after she sent her daughter frightening text messages regarding murder.
According to the affidavit, troopers arrived on the scene with the fire pit still blazing. Investigators discovered human bones in the pit and determined they belonged to Pruitt.
In an interview with troopers, Ronda Parker stated that Terry Parker “lured” Pruitt to the home on Friday night. When Pruitt entered the kitchen, Terry Parker allegedly shot him. Pruitt dashed inside Ronda Parker’s bedroom, attempting to hide behind her. The affidavit, however, states that Terry Parker “finished off” Pruitt in the bedroom doorway.
Terry Parker allegedly bundled Pruitt’s body in a sleeping bag, wrapped it in a metal chain with a cinder block attached, and placed it in the trunk of a car. On Saturday, they drove about seeking watering holes to dump the body, according to the affidavit.
They conducted a few errands, picked up a shovel, chainsaw, and rubbish bags, and even stopped for ice cream with the kids in the car, according to police. Terry Parker apparently asked his former wife what she felt they should do with the body, and she proposed burning it.
According to Ronda Parker, Terry Parker wanted Pruitt killed because he had been “sexually inappropriate with his daughters,” according to the affidavit. Heil allegedly stated in an interview with investigators that her partner informed her that Pruitt had been masturbating in front of his teenage children.
The Parkers and Heil allegedly spent the majority of Saturday cutting Pruitt’s body and burning it. Heil allegedly revealed to authorities that she held Pruitt’s arms and legs as Terry Parker cut them off.
She also admitted to stabbing the victim after he died because she was “high on meth” and enraged at what Pruitt allegedly did to the children, police claimed. Ronda Parker claimed she cleaned up the residence and painted over the blood on the kitchen walls, according to court filings.
Detectives recovered text texts sent by Terry and Ronda Parker. They supposedly stated:
Ronda Parker: Terry Clorox is not enough in here; it’s everywhere.
Terry Parker: We need clothing. In a rush. We both smell of dead animals.
Terence Parker: Already have more than half of him in the bags.
Ronda Parker: I just found a tooth on my blankets that (a one-year-old child) had been on; would you like it as a souvenir? If that’s in the blanket, what’s in the baseboard cracks?
Ronda Parker: I’d never rat you; don’t be a f—— imbecile.
Terry: Being overly paranoid. To the point of obsession. Of course, s— should be cleaned. But you’re taking things to a whole new level. The s— in the fire cannot even be seen. Not even with a close-up view. It is covered up with piles of rubbish.
Heil and the Parkers were arrested and sent to the Bradford County Jail, where they are being held without bond. Their preliminary hearing is scheduled for March 27.