Post by aleamon98 on Mar 22, 2008 8:31:37 GMT -5
By: Chloe Morrison
(Contact)
LaFAYETTE, Ga. — Nearly one year after Walker County 911 dispatcher Theresa Parker disappeared, Hilda Wilson sorted through her missing sister’s belongings, trying to salvage memories.
Last week, at the Cordell Road home that Theresa Parker once shared with her husband Sam Parker, Mrs. Wilson found her sister’s belongings haphazardly stuffed into one room and a closet.
Mr. Parker, a former LaFayette police sergeant, is charged with his wife’s murder, although no body has been found.
Mrs. Parker was reported missing on March 22 a year ago, but the family’s grief is still fresh and heavy.
“It was very difficult,” Mrs. Wilson said about going through belongings. “My girls were bawling. For the most part it was really hard and really strange.”
Sorting through the disorganized items — from clothes to pictures that were left in Mr. Parker’s possession for the past year — had family members recalling Mrs. Parker’s personality.
She was a “neat freak,” Mrs. Wilson said. “She was really particular like that. She took care of everything so well.”
Mrs. Wilson said the belongings hinted at her Mrs. Parker’s practices and character. She was the kind of person with nightly rituals and organized closet space. Mrs. Wilson found her missing sister’s bedside table still in order.
Mrs. Parker’s nieces sifted through papers, and found a letter from a sick nine-year-old girl thanking Mrs. Parker for donating money to an organization to help the child battle her disease.
“She felt people’s pain,” Mrs. Wilson said. “She is the kind of person who opens the car window and gives money to people on the side of the road.”
One year
It has been a long year since Mrs. Parker was reported missing.
Months of searching, praying, and appeals to the public and media for information and publicity were followed by months of silence after District Attorney Leigh Patterson was appointed to the case and hushed authorities.
Occasional incidents renewed attention. Mr. Parker tried to harm himself. Tip lines and rewards were established. Memorials were held. Another former LaFayette Police officer Harbin “Ben” Chaffin was arrested.
Sam Parker remained mostly quiet, except to give two interviews to say he did not harm his wife. Initially he alluded that he knew where she was. Safe. Maybe in Florida and wanting to be left alone.
Then on Feb. 4 Mr. Parker was arrested and charged with his wife’s murder.
At the arraignment where he pleaded “not guilty,” six witnesses were called and recounted incidents where they were threatened by Mr. Parker or saw him behave violently. Mr. Parker was denied bond and remains jailed.
Mrs. Parker’s co-workers are still hurting one year later.
“They don’t go a day without thinking about Theresa,” said Walker County 911 Director David Ashburn.
Mrs. Wilson said feelings are still almost unbearable. She said her daughters want to go see their estranged uncle in jail in hopes of finding answers.
In the search for closure, the family hopes to create a memorial on the Cordell Road land, which belonged to Mrs. Parker. Maybe it would be a good place for a flower garden, said Mrs. Wilson, who said she has felt her sister’s spirit nearby.
Still, despite a year it seems like yesterday, Mrs. Wilson said.
“It may be the fact that we can’t find her,” she said. “We don’t know where she is but we know she is dead. It is almost like it just happened. It is that pain that is just there.”
WHAT’S NEXT?
Walker County Sheriff Steve Wilson said authorities are still seeking help from landowners and the general public to find Mrs. Parker. Anyone with information should call the tip line at (706) 639-2255.
Mr. Parker’s lawyer, Public Defender David Dunn, said this week there are no court proceedings scheduled in the near future.
www.timesfreepress.com/news/2008/mar/22/year-after-theresa-parker-was-reported-missing-her/
(Contact)
LaFAYETTE, Ga. — Nearly one year after Walker County 911 dispatcher Theresa Parker disappeared, Hilda Wilson sorted through her missing sister’s belongings, trying to salvage memories.
Last week, at the Cordell Road home that Theresa Parker once shared with her husband Sam Parker, Mrs. Wilson found her sister’s belongings haphazardly stuffed into one room and a closet.
Mr. Parker, a former LaFayette police sergeant, is charged with his wife’s murder, although no body has been found.
Mrs. Parker was reported missing on March 22 a year ago, but the family’s grief is still fresh and heavy.
“It was very difficult,” Mrs. Wilson said about going through belongings. “My girls were bawling. For the most part it was really hard and really strange.”
Sorting through the disorganized items — from clothes to pictures that were left in Mr. Parker’s possession for the past year — had family members recalling Mrs. Parker’s personality.
She was a “neat freak,” Mrs. Wilson said. “She was really particular like that. She took care of everything so well.”
Mrs. Wilson said the belongings hinted at her Mrs. Parker’s practices and character. She was the kind of person with nightly rituals and organized closet space. Mrs. Wilson found her missing sister’s bedside table still in order.
Mrs. Parker’s nieces sifted through papers, and found a letter from a sick nine-year-old girl thanking Mrs. Parker for donating money to an organization to help the child battle her disease.
“She felt people’s pain,” Mrs. Wilson said. “She is the kind of person who opens the car window and gives money to people on the side of the road.”
One year
It has been a long year since Mrs. Parker was reported missing.
Months of searching, praying, and appeals to the public and media for information and publicity were followed by months of silence after District Attorney Leigh Patterson was appointed to the case and hushed authorities.
Occasional incidents renewed attention. Mr. Parker tried to harm himself. Tip lines and rewards were established. Memorials were held. Another former LaFayette Police officer Harbin “Ben” Chaffin was arrested.
Sam Parker remained mostly quiet, except to give two interviews to say he did not harm his wife. Initially he alluded that he knew where she was. Safe. Maybe in Florida and wanting to be left alone.
Then on Feb. 4 Mr. Parker was arrested and charged with his wife’s murder.
At the arraignment where he pleaded “not guilty,” six witnesses were called and recounted incidents where they were threatened by Mr. Parker or saw him behave violently. Mr. Parker was denied bond and remains jailed.
Mrs. Parker’s co-workers are still hurting one year later.
“They don’t go a day without thinking about Theresa,” said Walker County 911 Director David Ashburn.
Mrs. Wilson said feelings are still almost unbearable. She said her daughters want to go see their estranged uncle in jail in hopes of finding answers.
In the search for closure, the family hopes to create a memorial on the Cordell Road land, which belonged to Mrs. Parker. Maybe it would be a good place for a flower garden, said Mrs. Wilson, who said she has felt her sister’s spirit nearby.
Still, despite a year it seems like yesterday, Mrs. Wilson said.
“It may be the fact that we can’t find her,” she said. “We don’t know where she is but we know she is dead. It is almost like it just happened. It is that pain that is just there.”
WHAT’S NEXT?
Walker County Sheriff Steve Wilson said authorities are still seeking help from landowners and the general public to find Mrs. Parker. Anyone with information should call the tip line at (706) 639-2255.
Mr. Parker’s lawyer, Public Defender David Dunn, said this week there are no court proceedings scheduled in the near future.
www.timesfreepress.com/news/2008/mar/22/year-after-theresa-parker-was-reported-missing-her/