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Duane Parker has been charged with murder, felony murder and robbery Robbery in the fatal stabbing of 57-year-old Timothy Appling of Camden, according to Camden County Prosecutor Grace C. MacAulay alongside Camden County Police Chief Gabriel Rodriguez.
On Dec. 14, 2013, at approximately 2:43 a.m., officers from the Camden County Police Department were dispatched to Broadway and Atlantic Avenue in Camden and found the victim bleeding on the ground. The victim was taken to Cooper University Hospital for treatment and was later pronounced dead.
Detectives recovered DNA evidence from the victim’s fingernails, but no potential matches for the source of the DNA were found at that time. Detectives also learned from a witness that a man called “Park” or “Parks” with a scar on his forehead had been the person who robbed and assaulted the victim, MacAuley and Rodriguez said.
In January of 2020, detectives were notified that the Combined DNA Index System, known as CODIS, had hit on Duane Parker as a potential match. Detectives observed that Parker had a scar on his forehead consistent with the scar described by the witness.
During further investigation, detectives collected a more recent DNA sample from Parker for analysis. In December of 2021, the New Jersey State Police Laboratory confirmed that Parker was the source of the DNA collected from the victim’s fingernails, they said.
“No matter how much time goes by, we will not stop seeking justice for victims and their families,” MacAulay said. “This case is yet another example of the dedication of our detectives and partner agencies to holding individuals who commit violence responsible for their actions.”
Parker is currently incarcerated in New Jersey State Prison on unrelated charges. He was charged in reference to Appling’s homicide on Thursday, April 14, and served with those charges on Monday, April 18.
Anyone with information pertaining to this case is asked to contact Detective Kyrus Ingalls with the CCPO Homicide Unit at (856) 225-5105. Tips can also be sent anonymously to ccpotips@ccprosecutor.org.
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