A year after
Theresa Parker was reported missing, her family, friends still
hope for closure
From the
Chattanooga Times Free Press, Saturday, March 22, 2008
By: Chloe Morrison
LaFAYETTE, Ga. — Nearly one year after Walker County 911
dispatcher Theresa Parker disappeared, Hilda Wilson sorted through
her missing sister’s belongings, trying to salvage memories.
Last week,
at the Cordell Road home that Theresa Parker once shared with
her husband Sam Parker, Mrs. Wilson found her sister’s belongings
haphazardly stuffed into one room and a closet.
Mr. Parker,
a former LaFayette police sergeant, is charged with his wife’s
murder, although no body has been found.
Mrs. Parker
was reported missing on March 22 a year ago, but the family’s
grief is still fresh and heavy.
“It was
very difficult,” Mrs. Wilson said about going through belongings.
“My girls were bawling. For the most part it was really
hard and really strange.”
Sorting through
the disorganized items — from clothes to pictures that were
left in Mr. Parker’s possession for the past year —
had family members recalling Mrs. Parker’s personality.
She was a “neat
freak,” Mrs. Wilson said. “She was really particular
like that. She took care of everything so well.”
Mrs. Wilson
said the belongings hinted at her Mrs. Parker’s practices
and character. She was the kind of person with nightly rituals
and organized closet space. Mrs. Wilson found her missing sister’s
bedside table still in order.
Mrs. Parker’s
nieces sifted through papers, and found a letter from a sick
nine-year-old girl thanking Mrs. Parker for donating money to
an organization to help the child battle her disease.
“She felt
people’s pain,” Mrs. Wilson said. “She is the
kind of person who opens the car window and gives money to people
on the side of the road.”
One year
It has been
a long year since Mrs. Parker was reported missing.
Months of searching,
praying, and appeals to the public and media for information
and publicity were followed by months of silence after District
Attorney Leigh Patterson was appointed to the case and hushed
authorities.
Occasional
incidents renewed attention. Mr. Parker tried to harm himself.
Tip lines and rewards were established. Memorials were held.
Another former LaFayette Police officer Harbin “Ben”
Chaffin was arrested.
Sam Parker
remained mostly quiet, except to give two interviews to say he
did not harm his wife. Initially he alluded that he knew where
she was. Safe. Maybe in Florida and wanting to be left alone.
Then on Feb.
4 Mr. Parker was arrested and charged with his wife’s murder.
At the arraignment
where he pleaded “not guilty,” six witnesses were called
and recounted incidents where they were threatened by Mr. Parker
or saw him behave violently. Mr. Parker was denied bond and remains
jailed.
Mrs. Parker’s
co-workers are still hurting one year later.
“They
don’t go a day without thinking about Theresa,” said
Walker County 911 Director David Ashburn.
Mrs. Wilson
said feelings are still almost unbearable. She said her daughters
want to go see their estranged uncle in jail in hopes of finding
answers.
In the search
for closure, the family hopes to create a memorial on the Cordell
Road land, which belonged to Mrs. Parker. Maybe it would be a
good place for a flower garden, said Mrs. Wilson, who said she
has felt her sister’s spirit nearby.
Still, despite
a year it seems like yesterday, Mrs. Wilson said.
“It may
be the fact that we can’t find her,” she said. “We
don’t know where she is but we know she is dead. It is almost
like it just happened. It is that pain that is just there.”
WHAT’S
NEXT?
Walker County
Sheriff Steve Wilson said authorities are still seeking help
from landowners and the general public to find Mrs. Parker. Anyone
with information should call the tip line at (706) 639-2255.
Mr. Parker’s
lawyer, Public Defender David Dunn, said this week there are
no court proceedings scheduled in the near future.