Theresa Parker - BODY FOUND

[LadyBlue]

September 23, 2010

Authorities say the remains of a missing 911 dispatcher have been found nearly 3 1/2 years after her disappearance.

Theresa Parker was last seen leaving her sister's house on March 21, 2007, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation said.

Parker, who was 41 at the time, worked as an emergency dispatcher for Walker County in northwest Georgia.

Her disappearance was widely covered in the media as hundreds of people searched for her.

Sheriff John Everett of neighboring Chattooga County in Georgia said a farmer there discovered a jaw bone on Monday.

He reported his discovery to authorities, who found more remains.

The bones were in a wooded area near a river close to the Alabama border -- about 25 miles from the Walker County line.

Dental records confirmed the remains were Theresa Parker, Everett said.

Sam Parker, Theresa's husband and a former police sergeant, is in jail for her murder.

He was convicted last year, even though her body had not been found.

Jerry Scott of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation said Wednesday at a news conference that the jury that convicted Parker should feel justified in its decision.

"There have been a lot of rumors going around that Theresa had left the country, but now those 12 people will realize they did the right thing."

Walker County Sheriff Steve Wilson informed Theresa Parker's family that her remains had been found.

"It's been a long 3 1/2 years," he said. "They are glad to finally be able to bring her home."

Leigh Patterson who prosecuted the murder case said the family needed that closure.

"Even now, even when they were told today, I think they had still held out hope that she might come back. "

Everett says investigators are continuing to examine the remains.

So far, no official cause of death has been determined.
articles.cnn.com/2010-09-23/justice/georgia.body.found_1_jaw-bone-dental-records-murder-case?_s=PM:CRIME

[LadyBlue]

Where Theresa Parker's Body Was Hidden

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."

Forensics experts have not been able to determine a cause of death.

In his trial, Sam Parker's defense team claimed Theresa left the country. The district attorney said obviously that has now been proven false. Parker's attorneys have been notified of Ms. Parker's body being found.

The d-a is unsure if, or how, this might affect Sam Parker's appeal for a new trial.

Theresa Parker was a Walker County Sheriff's dispatcher when she disappeared in March of 2007, and Sam Parker was a Lafayette, Ga police officer. The husband immediately came under suspicion. The couple were in the process of divorcing, and had a history of explosive confrontations.

In September 2009, a jury found Parker guilty of malice murder after a three week trial. Judge Jon "Bo" Wood sentenced him to serve the rest of his life in prison.

Parker steadfastly insisted that he was innocent, and that his wife had run away to begin a new life.

All along, investigators theorized Sam Parker used her 1999 Toyota Forerunner to dispose of her body.
www.newschannel9.com/articles/parker-994861-sam-theresa.html

[LadyBlue]

No evidence of injury found in Theresa Parker's remains

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation has finished its investigation of Theresa Parker’s remains and found no evidence of injury.

The crime lab was not able to determine “any evidence of specific inflicted traumatic injury that would have caused her death,” GBI spokesman John Bankhead said.

However, based on the “cumulative circumstances surrounding her disappearance,” the subsequent investigation and the examination of her remains led state chief medical examiner Kris Sperry to categorize Parker’s death as a homicide, Bankhead said.

Parker was a 911-dispatch operator in LaFayette when she disappeared in March 2007. Her estranged husband, Sam Parker, a LaFayette police officer, was convicted of her murder in September 2009 and sentenced to life in prison, even though her body had not been found. Her skeletal remains were found Sept. 20 in a rural wooded area near the Chattooga River in Chattooga County.
www.romenews-tribune.com/view/full_story/9733800/article-No-evidence-of-injury-found-in-Theresa-Parker-s-remains