Gerald Parker
Gerald Parker | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1955 (age 68–69) |
| Other names | The Bedroom Basher The Bludgeon Killer |
| Conviction(s) | Murder Rape |
| Criminal penalty | Death |
| Details | |
| Victims | 6 |
Span of crimes | 1978–1979 |
| Country | United States |
| State(s) | California |
Gerald Parker (born around 1955) is a serial killer who raped and murdered five Orange County, California women, attacked a sixth, and killed her unborn child; the crimes took place in the 1970s, but he was discovered some 17 years later via DNA, convicted and sentenced to death in January, 1999. The murders that he committed took place in the cities of Costa Mesa, Tustin, and Anaheim.[1]
Background
The public record of Parker's offenses began with a term in Juvenile Hall in the 1960s for glue-sniffing.[2] Parker received a six-year prison term for the 1980 rape of a 13-year-old girl from Tustin, California.[1][3] At the time of the murders he was stationed at the El Toro, California, Marine Air Station.[1]
Crimes
In 1978 and 1979 Parker raped and murdered five Orange County, California, women. He also attacked a sixth woman and killed her unborn child.[1] The women were murdered by bludgeoning them with a 2x4 piece of lumber, a hammer, or a mallet.[1] For this reason he was nicknamed the "Bedroom Basher."[4]
Kevin Lee Green, the husband of the woman who survived the attack—but whose unborn child was killed—was wrongfully convicted of murder and spent 16 years in prison before he was freed in 1996.[4]
New DNA technology identified Parker's involvement in the crimes in 1996.[5] Parker was in prison at that time. He was confronted with the evidence and confessed.[6] He was convicted in October 1998 on six counts of first degree murder, six counts of first degree rape, and one count of first degree attempted murder.
In January 1999, Parker was sentenced to death by lethal injection, plus life without possibility of parole, plus 64 years in prison.[4]
References
- ^ a b c d e Cekola, Anna; H. G. Reza (20 August 1996). "O.C. Grand Jury Heard Parker Admit 6 Killings". Los Angeles Times.
- ^ Granberry, Michael (15 July 1996). "Relative of Alleged Serial Killer Cites Life of Losses". Los Angeles Times.
- ^ "Releases JUSTICE DELAYED / DNA EVIDENCE FREES ONE MAN, POINTS TO ANOTHER IN 1979 CASE : Heating the Cold Trail of the 'Bludgeon Killer'". Los Angeles times. June 22, 1996.
- ^ a b c Yi, Daniel (22 January 1999). "Man Sentenced to Death in Killings". Los Angeles Times.
- ^ Hua, Thao; H. G. Reza; Lee Romney (22 June 1996). "New Suspect Charged as Man Held 17 Years Is Freed". Los Angeles Times.
- ^ Keppel, Robert D.; Birnes, William J. (2003). The Psychology of Serial Killer Investigations: The Grisly Business Unit. Academic Press. p. 18. ISBN 9780124042605.
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