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Terry Parker, 47, his ex-wife (possibly legally married but separated, officials explained at a later date) Ronda Parker, 48, and his new girlfriend Summer Heil, 36, worked together to lure Ronda's new boyfriend, Michael Pruitt, 40, to a home in Springfield Township, Pennsylvania State Police in Bradford County explained in the court documents obtained by Daily Voice
PSP found the bones allegedly of Pruitt (DNA has not confirmed this as of March 14) in a muddy pit previously used as a swimming hole located near an old horse barn at 1404 Sawyer Road in Springfield Township, as detailed in the court documents.
On Friday, March 8, Pruitt had been lured to Ronda's nearby home by Terry, using her phone, pretending to be her, according to the affidavit.
Ronda was holding a 1-year-old infant boy in the bedroom when Terry arrived that night. After a brief argument in the kitchen, he shot Pruitt — who took off running down the hallway towards Ronda, yelling "he shot me, he shot me". Then he tried to hide behind her as she still held the baby, but Terry shot him again and fell to the floor "gurgling," but Terry thought he was just "presumably unconscious," so he shot him two more times, according to the affidavit. Ronda was then asked to clean up the "blatantly obvious" evidence.
For whatever reason they stripped him naked, put him in bags, wrapped him in a blanket, stuffed him in a sleeping bag, wrapped a chain around him, and tossed him in a car trunk before driving the vehicle to Harrisburg. They went to Dollar General, Family Dollar, and Lowe's for supplies to clean up the evidence and bury the body, the troopers explained.
Ronda even took her daughters, 13 and 4-years-old, along for the ride, stopping for ice cream — all while Pruitt's body remained in the trunk.
On Sunday, March 10, Terry picked up the Harrisburg Burger King manager, his new girlfriend, Summer Heil to help Ronda clean up.
Ronda later told police she heard what sounded like "sawzail" being used by Heil and Terry to dismember Pruitt, although Heil later told PSP that she held Pruitt's arms and legs as Terry used a red and black axe to chop them off.
Three of the Parkers's step-daughters and Ronda's Pastor had texted and Facebook messaged with Ronda about the murder and they ultimately showed those messages to investigating troopers.
Additionally, the Parkers's texted each other the following:
- Ronda: "Terry clorox is not enough in here its everywhere"
- Terry: "We need clothes. In a hurry. We both smell like dead animal"
- Terry: "Already got more than half of him in the bags"
- Ronda: "Just found a tooth on my blankets that (a one-year-old child) has been on, would you like it as a souvenir? If that is in the blanket what's in the baseboard cracks"
- Ronda: "I'd never rat you don't be a ****ing moron"
- Terry: "Being too ****ing paranoid. To the point of obsession. Of course **** needs to be cleaned. But you are taking it to a whole new level. And the **** in the fire can't even be seen. Not even from a very close up look. It's covered up with rims of garbage"
After Terry and Heil came back into Ronda's home on Sunday, Terry said "he's gone."
Around 4 a.m. on Monday, troopers arrived and began their investigation after human bones were found "smoldering" in an abandoned swimming hole.
The investigators later found blood droplets on the bottom wall in the kitchen of Ronda's home which was freshly painted. The trio was arrested by 3 p.m. on March 11.
As for their motives: Ronda told police Pruitt had previously choked her and she was scared of what Terry might do, Terry told police he walked in on Pruitt masturbating in front of his young daughters, and Heil was high on meth and was also angry about Pruitt's behavior in front of the girls — which is when she admitted to the police that she stabbed him in the chest twice, according to the affidavit.
“That is actively being investigated as we speak. I can confirm today that those allegations are purported sexual acts by the victim had not been previously reported to state police, they had not been reported to child line and they had not been reported to any other law enforcement agency, ” Lieutenant Derek Felsman said at a press conference about the case on March 19. Felsman also noted that the infant is safe. He then thanked the stepdaughters and pastor for coming forward about the text messages.
The trio has been charged with abuse of a corpse and evidence tampering, and the Parkers have been charged with homicide. Additional charges could be added in the future, officials said at the press conference.
All three were denied bail and have been held in the Bradford County Prison. Their preliminary hearings are scheduled before Magisterial District Judge Jonathan Wilcox on March 27.
The fact that a one-year-old child was present at the time of this killing could be "a single aggravating circumstance" required for the state to pursue the death penalty for one or all three of the suspects, Bradford County District Attorney Richard Wilson said at the press conference.
Editor's Note: This article has been updated with information from PSP at a press conference on March 19.
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