Sheriff says man killed couple over fence dispute
A one-year property dispute came to a tragic end Tuesday morning when a man shot his neighbors and then later turned the gun on himself.
The incident occurred on Aunt Helen Road off Clemons Ridge Road in northern DeKalb County near Silver Point. Dead are Richard D. Parker, 45, his wife Laurie Jean Parker, 36, and Roy Whitehead, an adjoining property owner.
Physically unharmed was the Parkers’ 7-year-old daughter, Madison, who had the presence of mind to call 911 following the first incident.
DeKalb County Sheriff Lloyd Emmons said authorities believe Whitehead shot the Parkers, left the scene, and then shot himself at the Center Hill Dam Recreational Area some seven miles away.
Emmons said the 911 call came in at 6:51 a.m. and the young girl told the dispatcher her parents had been shot and that “she was able to tell us who did the shooting.”
Praising dispatcher Tony Burgess for his work, Emmons said Burgess was able to keep the young girl on the telephone line until officers arrived at the scene.
Emmons said based on the information provided by the girl, indications are Whitehead was waiting and when Richard Parker approached his truck, he was shot by Whitehead at close range with a single-barrel pump shotgun.
At the time the mother was inside the house blow drying her daughter’s hair and likely did not hear the shot.
Emmons said after shooting Richard Parker, Whitehead went into the house and it was then the young girl ran outside to apparently check on her father.
“I don’t know if the mother told her to run or not,” Emmons said.
After shooting Mrs. Parker, the sheriff said Whitehead came back outside and saw the young girl “bent down, looking at her father.”
Emmons said the young girl indicated Whitehead glared at her with a very menacing look. “She was afraid he was going to shoot her and why he didn’t I don’t know, but fortunately he didn’t.”
Authorities later found Whitehead’s car at the Center Hill Dam Recreation Area and soon discovered Whitehead had used another shotgun to shoot himself.
Emmons said all indications are the tragic incident occurred over a property dispute. Richard Parker had charged Whitehead in March last year with damaging his fence. Later, Whitehead was convicted of vandalism in DeKalb County Criminal Court and was set to be sentenced April 4.
Emmons said the dispute between Whitehead and the Parkers was not the first call his officers had received in the area in recent months.
“I recall one incident where kids were walking down the road and got over on Whitehead’s property and he came out and scared them,” Emmons said. “I guess you might call him the neighborhood grouch.”
As for the young girl, she was left in the custody of a grandmother following the incident.
“She’s upset, but she’s a remarkable little girl,” the sheriff said. “I stayed with her until we could contact her grandmother and a family friend. I sat in the living room with her and she was able to rationally tell me the entire story and answer the questions I had for her. I had to do it in a very gentle way and it took some time. We got her a stuffed animal and she did very well.”
The TBI has joined in the investigation which was not complete at press time.