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Kason Parker, age 35, of Albany, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in Suffolk County Court on Monday, May 1, for killing his ex-girlfriend Meghan Kiefer in October 2021.
According to the Suffolk County DA’s Office, Kiefer, age 27, had returned to her Coram home with a friend on Oct. 23, 2021 to pick up a credit card from Parker so the two could go shopping together.
Although they were no longer in a relationship, Parker had been staying with Keifer at her home.
When the women arrived, Kiefer went inside while her friend stayed in the car, where she witnessed Kiefer and Parker get into an argument on the front porch, prosecutors said.
Kiefer was attempting to get back into the car when Parker pulled her away and began stabbing her multiple times with a knife, according to prosecutors.
He then threatened the friend when she tried rendering aid before getting into his car and fleeing the scene.
Kiefer’s friend called 911 and identified the suspect as Parker. She also gave dispatchers his license plate number and a description of the vehicle.
While in the ambulance to Stony Brook University Hospital, Kiefer suffered cardiac arrest and was pronounced dead within minutes of arriving at the hospital, prosecutors said.
She had been stabbed 54 times in her face, neck, head, and torso, investigators determined. She also had defensive wounds on her hands.
Parker was arrested the following day after Crime Stoppers received a tip that he was planning to flee to North Carolina.
Detectives found him on a Port Authority bus bound for North Carolina from New York City, prosecutors said. At the time, he had a bandage on his right hand, along with a bag of medical supplies.
Investigators later recovered his vehicle, which had been abandoned at Schmitt’s Family Farm in Dix Hills.
Inside, they found a “tremendous amount” of physical evidence tying him to Kiefer’s murder, including clothing that tested positive for her blood, according to prosecutors.
They also found video footage on a dashboard camera that showed Parker fleeing the murder scene, and later confessing to the crime.
On Monday, Parker copped to the second-degree murder charge on the first day of his trial. Three witnesses had already testified, including a surgeon who recounted how he tried to save Kiefer's life.
“This defendant showed no mercy in the brutal and senseless murder of the victim, Meghan Kiefer,” Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond Tierney said in a statement.
“The defendant chose to plead guilty rather than go to trial once he was confronted in court with the irrefutable evidence in this case put together by the Suffolk County Police Department,” he continued.
“This plea will not return Ms. Kiefer to her family, but hopefully, it will provide a small measure of closure for all those that loved her.”
Parker now faces 25 years to life in prison when he’s sentenced on Wednesday, May 31.
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