By Matthew Hill
HINTON — Defense attorneys promulgated Thursday what could possibly be their theory of who killed Ruby Parker, 70, at her home at 417 Temple St. in Hinton on Dec. 6, 2006 — her own granddaughter.
Patricia Brown, 39, of Hinton, is accused of stabbing Parker to death. Under intense cross-examination of State Police Sgt. Jason Miller, defense attorney Tom White posed the question: Did Patricia Brown state that Miracle Parker was the one who stabbed Ruby Parker?
“Yes,” Miller replied when asked about a statement he took from Brown the day of Parker’s death.
“Isn’t it possible,” White continued, “that Miracle was chasing her (Brown) with the knife?”
White was referring to a phrase purportedly used by Brown in that interview. Brown stated at the time that Miracle “had the knife after me.”
Miller and White wrestled momentarily over the potential meaning of the phrase. Did “after me” refer to the chronology of who handled the knife or pursuit? Miller maintained the former.
The initial 911 call that fateful morning, according to prior testimony, was that a girl was being chased by a woman with a knife. The girl, now known to be Miracle Parker, sought refuge across the street from the Ruby Parker residence at Summers Middle School.
“Did she (Brown) have an opportunity that morning to tell you what happened,” Summers County Prosecutor Amy Mann queried. Yes, Miller answered. Brown said she “didn’t hurt the old lady.”
According to Miller, Brown assured him her fingerprints would not be found on the knife.
Under questioning by White, Miller conceded Brown was not combative or violent. Miller instead described her as “concerned and upset.” White confronted Miller with a statement he may have uttered in which Miller asked Brown, “Patricia, don’t you want the truth to be told? Isn’t there something you want to tell me?”
Mann pointed out Brown did not tell her version of events to Miller until after she learned Ruby Parker had died.
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Prosecutors presented more than a dozen new witnesses Thursday, two of whom had previously testified and were recalled by the state for clarification.
Ray Gill, the middle school custodian who made the first 911 call, described Miracle Parker as “scared, angry and crying” when she sought refuge at the school. She reportedly told him a lady was chasing her with a knife.
Under cross-examination, Gill admitted Parker never mentioned Brown’s name — only that “a woman” was chasing her. Why, Brown’s legal counsel wondered aloud, weren’t the paper towels used to treat Miracle Parker’s wounds saved?
“I took the trash out,” Gill explained about his actions later that day. He also noted the coat he loaned Miracle Parker, who was dressed in a thin top and pajama bottoms on that cold December day, was never analyzed by police.
Gill later told Mann, under re-direct, that Parker did in fact tell him Brown stabbed Ruby Parker.
Crystal Sears recalled she was “surprised” to find Brown lying flat on her front porch at 906 Summers St. According to Sears, she heard a thump on the porch. When she went to investigate, Brown reportedly pushed open the door, went inside, washed her hands in the Sears’ bathroom sink and sat “Indian style” in the living room floor.
Sears asserted Brown was “out of breath.” Brown then supposedly fled through the front entrance, Sears’ towel in her hand.
Under cross-examination, Sears allowed that the blood on Brown’s hand could possibly have been from a cut she suffered herself.
Dante Freeman was set to work on the roof of a nearby house when he said he “watched it all unfold.” He claimed he saw a girl running across the street toward the school wearing pajama pants and no shoes.
Freeman also insisted he saw Brown running up the street. “At first, I thought she was a jogger,” he said, adding he recognized her as Brown from the newspaper article the next day. That drew some scrutiny from Brown’s defense team.
The conversation grew testy when Brown’s lawyer brought up the name of a private investigator named Paul Rhodes. When the attorney asked Freeman if he had been called by Rhodes, Freeman replied, “He called me annoyingly about three or four dozen times.”
Pressed by the lawyer, Freeman retorted, “Your investigator is wrong. I will tell you what I told him: Do not put words in my mouth and do not change my story.”
Drema Adkins testified Brown also sought refuge at her residence. Adkins insisted Brown pushed open the door when Adkins answered it, used Adkins’ phone and sat on Adkins’ couch until police approached the house on foot.
Robert Pakaki was also working on a roofing project that morning. He stated he heard a man say, “Look at that girl (Miracle). She ain’t got no shoes on.” Pakaki purportedly followed police into the Parker residence when they responded. He then heard Ruby Parker name Brown as her assailant, he asserted.
Defense attorneys pointed out Pakaki’s girlfriend is a member of the Parker family and that he had attended many family functions in the past. Ruby, Pakaki claimed, was “like a mother” to him.
State Police Senior Trooper C.H. Mitchell said he assisted with collecting and preserving evidence at the crime scene. He could not, he emphasized, vouch for the security of the crime scene afterward.
Officer Brandon Sprouse had been on Hinton’s police force only five days when Parker died. “No one was allowed to enter or leave (the Parker residence) besides paramedics. That’s what I did,” he testified of his role in securing the crime scene that day.
Sprouse conceded to White he did not sweep the house for other occupants.
Steven Gray, Hinton’s acting police chief, said he transferred a second batch of evidence to State Police two weeks ago when he learned they might need it for Brown’s trial. The first transfer occurred in June or July, he observed.
The state will present two witnesses from Charleston starting at 9 a.m. today. The defense will then open its case.
— E-mail: mhill@register-herald.com
