GA - Theresa Parker, 41, Lafayette, 21 March 2007 - #2

[gagal]

http://theresaparker.proboards91.com/

Hi guys. Here's a link to a new message board we have if you want to join us. It's a little different than a blog in that you can sort of organize topics, etc. We're just starting it and so it's a work in progress and needs a lot more added so feel free to post news, opinions, links to articles, etc.

 

[OnTHEotherHAND...]

rd-

Today a new personality appeared out of no where and dropped a few bombshells on the local blog room.

Check this out, and remember, Bill Slack is the attorney who went fishing with SP on Thursday, March 22...

From the Walker County Messenger Blogs:

This post got the ball rolling about 2 weeks ago and until today, no one responded to it.

Sabre says:
LE has received information regarding the statement that Bill Slack (BS) was incorrect in his timeline regarding their fishing trip. SP was seen at Theresa’s lawyer’s office the day of the fishing trip on March 22, 2007. SP was at Mary Jane Melton’s office around 11:30 am. BS stated they were together since early in the am. Anyone have any insight as to why such a reputable lawyer would make up such a story? Wow, a doctor, a lawyer, a cop? Who else is trying to cover something up?

Then today, comes this:

In terms of the "investigation" you've been doing on this blog, check Saber's first post. That particular nugget of information has stayed within a very small circle of criminal justice folks until this week. At least one Chattanooga TV station has it confirmed off the record by two extremely reliable "insider" sources but there are legitimate safety concerns for those witnesses who can shatter the fishing tale.

So far, there has been no discovery of any evidence (dated paperwork, videotape, audiotape, credit card receipts, etc.) that prove SP was not fishing early Thursday afternoon but was instead smack in the middle of downtown LaFayette during normal lunch hours. The very few people who did see him are credible. And scared. Their testimony is no sure thing and even so would not be enough to insure a successful prosecution without also finding TP's remains.

If TP's body is found it will be a miracle. That is my opinion based on SP's behavior. This is also a man who has demonstrated frequent suicidal tendencies over a very long period of time and is now under an unbelievable amount of pressure. This is a man who has also very adamantly said he will *not* go to prison under any circumstances. He wants to kill himself and from his perspective, he ain't goin' to let LE take him to jail if/when they make a move to arrest him. So, why hasn't he already taken his own life? It's my opinion that he knows they won't find her. I would like for him to be wrong about that, but he's just smart enough that he might be right.

All that to say, if you saw Sam Parker or Bill Slack any time before 3pm that Thursday TP disappeared, or have any credit card receipts, etc., to prove he wasn't on a lake then please tell someone. If you don't "trust" the investigators, call a news reporter that you trust.
06/30/2007 04:40:26 PM

Then in a follow up post:

Time Traveler,
Thanks for the props...

SP's busted alibi opens a big can of worms, and I'm not talking about fish bait. In the 3/30 WCM article by Eric Beavers, Bill Slack offers no info on the timeline of the fishing trip. None. In fact, the only direct information BS gives about actually fishing is his very strange 'making babies' comment.

Otherwise, he is not quoted as saying they actually fished. He says it was good weather to fish and they bought bait to fish and they had a perfect trip to Chattooga Co, but there's no quote about them actually being on the water. All of that timeline stuff is provided by the reporter. I'm not here to bash him, but from a journalistic standpoint there are some serious problems with the lack of sourcing. In fact, there is absolutely zero sourcing for any of the timeline. For example, the next to last sentence in the article, which is the most specific time reference he gives:

"The two men fished until about 2:30 p.m., loaded up the truck and headed to Armstrong's Barbecue in Summerville for lunch before going home."

Says who? The reporter. Who told the reporter? We don't know, because he didn't tell us. Understandably, reporters don't always want to name their sources. But he didn't provide even the most basic attribution that "sources tell us..." or "a person close to the case reveals..." And he never once writes that "Slack told us..." In essence, the reporter stated the facts and offered no verification that any of the timeline is true.

I'm not trying to suggest the reporter just made it all up. But the article ran a week after the fishing trip & all reporters working this story spent that week talking with dozens of people close to the case. Someone, or perhaps several someones, gave that reporter some very basic information about the trip, based on what they believed to be the scenario. When the reporter interviewed BS, he would've asked questions based on assumptions he'd made about the fishing trip. Playing semantic games is a fun sport for defense attorneys. Perhaps BS didn't bother to correct him & let the reporter weave a nice fishing tale. All we know is the article is based on what the reporter believed and, to some extent, the conclusions he drew from all the stories he'd heard.

In reality, no one in the media has talked specifics with BS because he ain't talking. That was his one & only interview to any reporter since TP disappeared. Again, I'm not trying to bash WCM, they work just as hard as any other media outlet, but there's a reason BS agreed to talk to a reporter who doesn't use sourcing. Why wouldn't he talk to John Madewell?

SP's attempts to offer a timeline have been vague. And due to his mental state, it's been very difficult to pin him down. If you watched his Fox interview, you know what I mean by that.

So, all we really can safely say it that it was great day to go fishing, SP & BS bought bait & drove to Chattooga County. I don't believe BS has any idea where to find TP.

And that's really at the heart of this case. LE has no idea where to find TP. We all know that Sam knows exactly where she is, he said so on teevee. This is an extremely difficult predicament for LE...alot like navigating land mines. Or C-4. That's the primary reason for the secrecy. They want to be extremely careful about what they allow SP to know regarding the investigation. If they rattle Sam's cage just a little too hard & he feels threatened that an arrest is in his immediate future he will take action to ensure he doesn't go to jail. If that happens, it's almost certain TP would never be found. Her family desperately wants closure, as would anyone else put in a similar situation. And don't forget she was a dispatcher. That makes her part of the extended family of the blue brotherhood. They'd like to do whatever they can to keep from setting off Sam until they can find her.

Disappearance of Theresa Parker, 911 dispatcher in Walker County
06/30/2007 02:57:43 PM
Curious Cat,
TP's family knows it is unlikely the body will be found unless SP decides to share that info. Not that they aren't desperate to find her, but they would rather focus their energy on doing things that will increase the pressure on SP and boost the likelihood of someone with information coming forward. This is why they've worked so hard to grow the reward fund.

In response to your question to me, there isn't a step in the registration process that requires one to review previous user ids. I used part of my email address, which was created nearly 10 years ago. Very odd thing for you to be worried about. Seems very, uh, catty. Regardless, I've answered your question.

Very few names, ideas, inventions, etc., are original. Almost always we recycle the ideas of others and pass them off as our own. Case in point: Curiosity killed the cat.


I asked this blogger about the letter SP fetched from his bed room about half way through the Fox5 interview. This is the response-



. About the interruption in the Fox5 interview...when SP gets up, goes to the bedroom & retrieves a page protector...When he hands it to the reporter, you hear audio of either the reporter or SP saying it's a letter. It's obviously a personal letter rather than some kind of official document, because the photographer zooms in & you can clearly see that inside the page protector is a sheet of notebook paper that came out of a spiral notebook. I can't remember what you call it, but in keeping with TT's political reference, when you rip a sheet of paper from a spiral notebook one side of the paper has all those hanging chads.

Also inside the protector you see a smaller item at the bottom, lying on top of the letter. It's maybe 2.5x3.5 & looks like a blob, but you can hear the reporter identify it as a photo. SP confirms that it's a photo of he & TP.

To put it in context, the reporter had just broached the subject of the DV calls & asked SP if he understood why he would be under the microscope. SP tells him to wait a minute. That's when he gets up. So, my best guess would be that the letter was written by TP to SP after a fight, one of those kiss & make up kind of things where perhaps she might've referenced them going thru a rough patch but telling him she loved him anyway. They were married a long time, who know when she might've written it.

This would also explain why the reporter gave it only a cursory glance. It really doesn't matter what TP wrote to SP. That only proves that no matter what took place between the two of them she was at one time committed to making that relationship work. The reporter wouldn't be interested in hearing her feelings from days gone by. He was there giving SP a chance to explain himself. But SP can't explain himself. So he hoped an old letter would "prove" she loved him. And if she loved him, then he's got to be a good guy, right? And everyone knows that a good guy wouldn't kill his wife, right? Lame, but it's the best he's got.

good stuff.

Otoh

 

[rd_jfc]

Well, here's my take on it, otoh.

Regardless of Bill Slack's story, we would have to believe Theresa's lawyer told the police that Parker was in her office at 11:30 and that she and the police and anyone else in her office who saw this, unless allegedly she was the sole source of this, have kept it secret all along.

Right.

As to the "unsourced" information in the interview with Slack, is every statement supposed to be preceded with "Bill Slack then said", as in "Bill Slack then said they were done fishing at 2:30 and went to lunch at a local barbeque."?

Regarding Bill Slack's story, he said he caught a fish and threw it back. So much for nothing about them actually fishing.

The poster needs their meds prescription reevaluated.

But thanks for the insight into the local blogging.

rd

 

[gagal]

RD - I think the same thing about the info not coming from Slack; he isn't going to say Bill slack said after every sentence. The article was about an interview with Slack so that lets the reader know that anything that doesn't name another source is from Bill Slack himself.

Now, if Sam was at Theresa's lawyer's office, I'm sure the lawyer called LE with this info and like RD said that's just one of those things they are keeping to themselves. If they were indeed back earlier than he said, that would have just given Sam more time to cover his trail........

 

[rd_jfc]

yeah, I agree gagal. And he's already has more than enough time as it is. He was back at Theresa's home at 3 pm. Unless there's a good alibi for his time after that, I believe that's when he moved Theresa and her purse, cell phone, etc. from the spot closer to his home where the GPS reading was recorded.

He had lots of time. I would say nowhere close to that spot now.

rd

 

[gagal]

I don't think she's close to that spot either - I wish they would broaden their search and continue doing the volunteer searches until no one shows up anymore....if she isn't found in the volunteer searches then at least we know that's one more place she isn't.

 

[chicoliving]

~snip~

The day after Theresa Parker's sister last saw her Sam Parker told investigators he went fishing with his divorce attorney, Bill Slack. Officers tell us that trip lasted from approximately 7:30 in the morning until about 2:30 in the afternoon.

But we discovered Sam Parker was in this downtown office on that day.

Theresa Parker's divorce attorney, Mary Jane Melton, confirms she and two employees saw him on that day from 11:30 until noon. Melton says he came to check on the status of the divorce and pick up his copy.

http://www.newschannel9.com/articles/parker_13599___article.html/sam_day.html

 

[gagal]

Chico - how do you do it? You are great. Every time I hear of a new article and come to post it, you've already got it,

Slack and Sam said they fished until 2:30, ate at Armstrong's, and then got back to Lafayette about 3:00...........my thing is this - why lie about what time they got back? It's not like it helped his case to get back to Lafayette at 3:00 instead of 11:30 because that still didn't prove he wasn't involved as that still gave him all of Wednesday night until Thursday morning at 7:30 to do whatever he did to Theresa and then all of Thursday evening and all of Friday until Saturday morning when she was reported missing to cover up any last minute details. We all know whatever happened happened that Wednesday night after the 10:44 call from the home and before 7:00 when the police officer saw Sam's car gone and Theresa's car back soooooooo that leads me to this conclusion....... they didn't just lie about the time of the fishing trip; the trip never existed and was only made up because Sam needed a reason for being seen at Theresa's house at 6:00 in the morning.....he needed to be able to say that he went there to get the boat motor hence the fishing story......then since it was all a lie Slack messed up when he told the police and the reporter that they got back at 3:00 b/c he didn't know Sam was in the lawyer's office at 11:30. Was Slack more involved in all of this? I don't know but it just makes me doubt the fishing story at all........

Also, one thing is why would Sam go to the lawyer's office to check on the divorce papers? Did he think about what he had done and the fact that the papers weren't completely done so she still had control of the house, etc., and he wanted to check on that OR did he just go there to cover his tracks and be able to later say if I had killed her why would I care about the status of the divorce?????

 

[rd_jfc]

The WTVC9 investigative team is entirely nameless. Is that what it takes to get into print this critical information which Theresa's lawyer and law office personnel knew all along and no one else knew? Except the investigators, I assume.

Oh, and the poster I said needed their meds prescription reevaluated. Well, now I'm the one that needs serious meds.

Now everything has to be reevaluated. Is Theresa's lawyer shaking things up? Was Slack making everything up for Parker? Was Parker out on a boat that morning, but not with Slack?

I personally find it impossible to even fathom the purpose of a make believe alibi for the time that includes being in the missing woman's lawyer's office.

Yet Slack said they were fishing until they had lunch at 2:30, and Parker said later he was back at Theresa's home at about 3 pm. If it's not true, it's the same story.

And yet we hear nothing from either Melton or Slack on this. I sense serious psych warfare being waged.

rd

 

[gagal]

Either Slack knows A LOT of details and was in on this (can't imagine) OR he was a trusting friend of Sam and Sam may have told him "I was out fishing by myself Thursday and no one will believe that so hey can you help me out and say you were with me?"......Sam wanted this alibi because A) He needed an excuse for being at the house that THursday morning at 6 and if he said he had been fishing then he could say he went to get his boat and/or B) He needed the reason to be at the house AND took Theresa somewhere in his boat and needed the alibi from Slack to say he was somewhere different fishing and with somebody........?????

 

[OnTHEotherHAND...]

rd- whomever- I mentioned at the very beginning of this ordeal this was more than just an investigation of a missing person or a psycho-husband gone wild. slack drew the short straw. Tough luck for him. He will only get so much support in patching up the holes in his fishing story. Along with the task of making it up comes the role of taking the fall. However, now there are many new problems that must be dealt with. Damage control is not something these people take lightly. Sit tight. OTOH Slack is a little fishy. Sam is a medium sized fishy. The big fish are not really fish. They are whales... killer whales. OTOH

 

[Tsunami]

Message boards new turf in Parker case
Sunday, July 08, 2007

By Chloé Morrison
Staff Writer

Since Walker County 911 dispatcher Theresa Parker disappeared, her case has drawn local and national media attention, and some have taken to the World Wide Web to discuss the investigation and speculate on her whereabouts.

Mrs. Parker disappeared on March 21. She was being divorced from former LaFayette Police officer Sam Parker, who has been called a "person of interest" in the case by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

Mr. Parker was fired from the police department for having explosives in his locker. Authorities have searched Mr. Parker's home at least five times. In a statement given through his sister, Carolyn Wooten, Mr. Parker said he did not harm his estranged wife.

Online discussion forums, called message boards, allow people anonymously to discuss the case, organize search efforts, spread the word about scheduled vigils and play crime scene investigator, officials said. But the real investigators said they do not rely on what is written online, although they don't totally disregard the information either.

E-mail Chloé Morrison at cmorrison@timesfreepress.com

http://www.timesfreepress.com/absolutenm/templates/local.aspx?articleid=17867&zoneid=77

 

[Jaded]

Compelling article. I have seen so many examples that LE may get great clues/ideas from discussions here. The OSBI female discussion for one. Someone was able to discern immediately that the female was Middle Eastern due to her threaded eyebrows.

Thanks for sharing this article. Great insight as to how LE views the online world.

 

[arielilane]

"You don't want the message board to drive your investigation, but I believe it is worthwhile to monitor," he said. "It doesn't mean you subscribe to every word."

Thanks for posting and a definite good read! I agree with the stated sentence above.

 

[JBean]

Mr. Hollander and Mr. Rothwell also said message boards sometime stray from the topic, and users begin to bicker and argue, which has occurred during discussions about Mrs. Parker.

Interesting article, thanks for posting. We should all keep in mind how bickering and arguing can detract from an investigation and probably undermine our credibility.

 

[T-Rex]

I think one way message boards are useful for LE is that they gather all the published information in one place. The DA in Boulder would have been smart to read a few before the whole Karr thing.

Another is that sometimes readers catch comments people make online--like the person who saw Benoit's wife alive on Saturday--that the police might not.

And once in a while, tech-savvy reader know tricks even LE might not--like in the case of the family who got lost in the snow.

 

[rd_jfc]

A timeline I did for Theresa. Thanks for the info from nrthgamom on Christina's call to the radio talk show about the courtesy check on Theresa's home she asked for.

rd

from http://www.justiceforchandra.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=2983&start=105

Theresa Parker Disappearance Timeline

Sam and Theresa Parker separate in weeks before she disappears, and Sam Parker moves out of their home to stay at the home of his recently deceased father. Theresa agrees to sell Sam her interest in their home and land. [4]

Wednesday, March 21
Theresa clocks out at work Wednesday morning at 6 am, telling colleagues she plans to go to her new residence in Fort Oglethorpe. [1]

Bill Slack calls Parker Wednesday afternoon about going fishing next day. [2]

Parker goes to see Theresa at their home about 7:30 pm Wednesday evening. She tells her sister he was uncharacteristically nice in helping her with the move by getting her boxes. Theresa senses some motive for this, perhaps trying to find out where her new apartment is. Parker is not on duty Wednesday night. [2]

Theresa visits her sister Christina and Christina's two sons in Fort Oglethorpe, leaving about 9:30 pm to 10 pm to go to her new apartment and clean to prepare for moving. She said she would be there till after midnight, go back to Lafayette to get some sleep, then get up and start packing and moving on Thursday. [2]

Theresa talks to her sister Hilda about 10 pm Wednesday evening in her last phone call. (March 30 Walker County Messenger reports it as 10:30 pm) [4]

A Fort Oglethorpe neighbor of Theresa's new apartment sees her outside talking on her cell phone at 10:15 pm. (this is likely to be the last call to her sister Hilda) [2]

Christina gets a call at her house at 10:44 pm with Theresa's Lafayette home phone caller id. [2]

Thursday, March 22
According to the sheriff, the last cell phone transmission was made sometime after midnight from a cell tower south of the home in Lafayette. [3]

Theresa's cell phone "went off soon after she was last seen Wednesday night by her younger sister." [5]

Parker says he went to the Lafayette house Thursday morning at 6 am to get the motor for his fishing boat. He said door was shut and he assumed she was asleep and didn't disturb her. [2]

Christina makes call to Walker County sheriff's office asking for courtesy check on Theresa's home. Deputy went by the home around 6 am and found Sam Parker's truck in driveway, but Theresa's car was not there. An hour or two later the deputy went back by the house and found Theresa's car in the driveway but Sam's truck was gone. [11]

Parker picks up Bill Slack Thursday morning about 7:30 am with a small boat in the back of his truck ready to go fishing. [2]

Parker and Slack head to Chatooga County, stopping on the way to buy bait. [2]

Theresa'a divorce attorney and two employees say that Sam Parker was in their office from about 11:30 am to noon to check on the status of the divorce and to pick up his copy. [14] (there was no mention of this from Parker or Slack)

Parker goes fishing with Slack Thursday afternoon, fishing until about 2:30 pm (Fox News erroneously quoted this report to say they were fishing on Wednesday same time as Theresa went missing). [2]

Parker and Slack go to lunch at Armstrong's Barbecue in Summerville. [2]

Parker says he returned to the Lafayette house around 3 pm and Theresa was gone, but her vehicle was still there. [2]

Friday, March 23
Christina gets worried Friday morning about not hearing from Theresa and calls her cell phone and leaves a message. [2]

Theresa is expected at Bank of Lafayette to meet with Sam and banker to close deal on selling her interest in their property, but doesn't show up. [1]

Christina calls Parker on Friday evening about last time he saw Theresa. He tells of his trips to the house Thursday morning and afternoon. When asked, he denies he placed the 10:44 pm Wednesday evening call to Christina from the house. [2]

Saturday, March 24
Theresa's mother reports her missing to Walker County Sheriff's office Saturday morning after family has not heard from her since around 10 pm Wednesday, March 21. [1]

Theresa's vehicle is found parked at her home. [1]

Theresa's mother asks Sam why he didn't report her missing after 24 hours, to which he responds that he didn't think much of it because Theresa often went on little trips. Her mother told him he should have thought it was strange, given she was in the middle of packing and moving.Theresa had reserved moving truck for today. [1]

Parker initially indicates Theresa's purse and overnight bag are missing from her house. [4]

Friday, March 30
A search of Theresa's home found drops of blood in the body well for the latch of the back hatch of Theresa'a Toyota Forerunner. [12]

Parker checks into a psychiatric rehabilation facility. [6]

Saturday, March 31
35 square mile area south of Lafayette searched by volunteers. [5]

According to the sheriff, the reason this area was chosen for the search was that the last cell phone call received was from the cell phone tower in this area. [3]

Monday, April 2
Theresa's family says they have been told that Parker has been named a person of interest. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation responds to queries that they never use the term person of interest or names suspects until an arrest warrant has been issued. [7]

Tuesday, April 3
Walker County Sheriff's office arrests a Lafayette police officer for making false statements to investigators in the Theresa Parker disappearance. Reported not to be Sam Parker, but was the next in line supervisor to Sam. Later reported to be Ben Chaffin. [8]

Walker County sheriff says Parker has not taken lie detector test. [9]

Saturday, April 14
A search of Parker's police locker had turned up C-4 explosive, and Parker was fired. Parker threatened to kill himself at his home, a neighbor called 911, and law enforcement responded and defused the situation. [10]

Saturday, June 2
Walker County sheriff leading search of timber company property south of Lafayette where a GPS reading indicated last location of her cell phone. [13]


[1] March 28 Walker County Messenger
[2] March 30 Walker County Messenger
[3] March 31 Walker County Messenger
[4] March 31 Fox News
[5] March 31 Chatanoogan
[6] April 2 wrcbtv.com
[7] April 2 Fox News
[8] April 3 Fox News
[9] April 3 Walker County Messenger
[10] April 14 Walker County Messenger
[11] websleuths.com nrthgamom's post of excerpts from Christina calling in to radio show
[12] May 25 newschannel9.com
[13] June 2 Chatanoogan
[14] July 5 newschannel9.com

rd

 

[OnTHEotherHAND...]

Thanks rd. I wish I could do that!

otoh

 

[rd_jfc]

The exercise made it clear to me what you or gagal or both were saying, that the phone call seen by the neighbor was to her sister, whereas I was thinking it was from someone that the police would not identify, namely Parker.

In fact, I posted that her sister saying the neighbor saw Theresa on the phone would be talking about her own phone conversation, which I found very odd.

However, this phone call was to Hilda, and it was Christina talking about the neighbor seeing the call. She had just left Christina's before making the call to Hilda. I would say it was on the way in, not on the way out, or even temporarily out, as in bad reception. She left Christina's as late as 10 pm.

I would also say that I now have no reason to think that she left the apartment earlier than planned. She was going to stay until after midnight, then return home. There is nothing to indicate that didn't happen.

I can only think that Christina is the one that made the unanswered call after midnight, given what Theresa had told her about staying until after midnight, and not getting an answer, called the sheriff's office and asked for a courtesy check on Theresa's home.

That would be the last call that the police are not identifying, if I recall correctly that that was reported. If it is, I missed it in my postings and left it out of the timeline.


rd

 

[auntjomoma]

rd , below is a snip from an aticle that ran in The Chattanooga Times Free Press on April 4th about the arrest of Ben Chaffin.
It states this was a 16 year old neighbor that was helping Sam Parker that night. I could be wrong but it is my understanding that the Cordell's were neighbors to the Lafayette residence at (Cordell Rd.) He was not quoted as giving times.
All this to say, if it were a 16 year old, one would believe that his parents would know what time he actually returned from helping Sam Parker, and hopefully that has been reported to officials, although we may never know.

Cody Cordell, 16, lives next door to Mr. Parker and often does yard work for him, he said. Mr. Cordell was questioned by police because he was working in Mr. Parker's yard on the day his wife last was seen.
"I've known (Mr. Parker) all my life," Mr. Cordell said.
Mr. Cordell said Mr. Parker lost his father about a month ago, and he thinks that really affected him.
"You could tell when his daddy died, he changed a little bit," he said.