Danielle Parker

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Speaker 3 Danielle Parker was an attractive, outgoing woman.

Speaker 4 Danielle loved to dress, loved to show off. You know,

Speaker 5 that was her thing.

Speaker 3 And her wife, Crystal, was a successful and popular East Point, Georgia police officer.

Speaker 6 She loved helping people.

Speaker 7 Love getting out in the community, interacting with people.

Speaker 3 Together, they seemed like the perfect couple.

Speaker 5 Crystal supported Danielle 100%

Speaker 4 in whatever she wanted to do in life.

Speaker 3 But their six-year marriage would end with a tragic discovery.

Speaker 9 Crystal had a bullet hole to the back of her head.

Speaker 10 We were very concerned about a cop killer at large.

Speaker 3 Was someone from her past trying to settle a score?

Speaker 7 There is a possibility that someone she arrested was angry at her and wanted to get back at her.

Speaker 3 Or would a surprise witness change the entire focus of the investigation?

Speaker 11 Would it be some crazy

Speaker 3 and reveal a betrayal that led to murder?

Speaker 7 This relationship was over.

Speaker 7 She had to have snapped.

Speaker 3 East Point, Georgia, July 7th, 2013. This community of 30,000 tucked between downtown Atlanta and the sprawling Hartsville-Jackson Airport has struggled in the past.

Speaker 12 At one point, it was a very highly drug-infested area. It has had a lot of renovation, a lot of changes in it.

Speaker 3 And 34-year-old Crystal Parker deserved at least a little of the credit for those changes. As an East Point police officer, she patrolled its streets.

Speaker 7 She loved helping people, loved getting out in the community, interacting with people.

Speaker 3 And since she had recently bought a house in East Point, she called it home, too.

Speaker 9 She lived in a suburb of it, so she was very much a part of the community in which she police.

Speaker 3 Once in East Point, Crystal and her wife, 30-year-old Danielle Parker, had established a comfortable routine, including a regular Sunday night dinner at home with an elderly friend.

Speaker 10 Every Sunday, she would come to Crystal's house. They would watch movies together.
This Sunday was no different.

Speaker 3 But when their friend arrived that Sunday evening, she knew something was wrong.

Speaker 10 She noticed the front door unlocked. She opened the front door, saw the back door completely wide open.
She asked if anybody was home. She received no response.

Speaker 7 She goes searching for Crystal, feeling something wasn't right.

Speaker 3 Why wasn't Crystal answering? And where was Danielle? The friend's worry turned to fear as she moved deeper into the house and noticed a disturbing odor.

Speaker 3 And to her horror, when Crystal's friend reached the master bedroom upstairs, she found the source of the odor.

Speaker 6 She finds Crystal on her bed with blood coming from her head.

Speaker 3 Crystal's friend called 911, but there was nothing the first responders could do. The veteran police officer was dead.

Speaker 9 Crystal had a bullet hole to the back of her head.

Speaker 3 And it didn't appear to be self-inflicted.

Speaker 9 There was no gun nearby. There wasn't a suicide note, and there was no indication of suicide.

Speaker 3 But if it wasn't a suicide, who would want the police officer dead? Was it a random home invasion or someone she arrested out for vengeance?

Speaker 3 Before the investigators could even begin to answer those questions, they would have to solve another, even more urgent mystery. What had become of Crystal's wife, Danielle?

Speaker 3 Born in 1982, Danielle Dixon grew up in Atlanta, raised by her single mother.

Speaker 12 Her mother worked really hard to try to give her the things that she needed.

Speaker 3 However, despite all her mother's support, Danielle was a timid, quiet child.

Speaker 12 She did not have confidence because she was heavy, and so she didn't think she was attractive.

Speaker 3 She was was also carrying the weight of a big secret.

Speaker 9 Danielle came out in high school.

Speaker 12 Her mother was very, very supportive.

Speaker 3 With the newfound freedom to be herself, the formerly shy teen came out of her shell.

Speaker 12 She ended up losing all this weight and so that gave her a lot of confidence.

Speaker 3 Danielle's newfound confidence soon got her noticed too.

Speaker 4 Danielle loved to dress, loved to show off. You know,

Speaker 5 that was her thing.

Speaker 12 When she put herself together, oh, she was great. She was a beautiful woman.

Speaker 3 Danielle was happier, but she was soon running with a wilder crowd and neglecting her high school classes.

Speaker 12 Danielle had stopped going to school.

Speaker 3 As a result, she spent her late teens and early 20s bouncing between jobs and relationships.

Speaker 4 Danielle loved to have people around. She loved to talk to people.
She loved to socialize.

Speaker 12 She needed to have someone.

Speaker 3 She wanted attention on her none of the relationships lasted though so in 2005 the 23 year old was on her own and looking for a little attention when she met crystal parker in an atlanta nightclub

Speaker 3 almost four years older than danielle Crystal was born in Atlanta, but grew up in central Florida.

Speaker 13 She liked to climb trees, run, jump, you know, pretty much get into anything athletic she could.

Speaker 3 She was also very competitive, especially with her twin brother.

Speaker 14 She was always taller than me, faster than me,

Speaker 14 talked for me, did everything before I did.

Speaker 3 However, despite their rivalry, Crystal and her brother had always been close.

Speaker 14 We had similar personalities, though. We both liked sports.

Speaker 14 You know, we always generally, you know, was interested in the same stuff.

Speaker 3 And that included girls.

Speaker 14 She came out during high school. I was mad at her, not because, you know, my twin sister was gay, but the fact that, you know, she hid it from it.

Speaker 3 What Crystal didn't hide was her athletic skill.

Speaker 13 She lettered pretty much in every sport that she played when she was in high school.

Speaker 3 But then, just as she was preparing to go to college on a basketball scholarship, a health crisis canceled those plans.

Speaker 14 Her face got big,

Speaker 14 like her gums would turn a different color. She was just sick.
We initially found out she had lupus.

Speaker 3 Crystal spent the next few years in and out of hospitals and doctors' offices.

Speaker 14 She had to go through chemotherapy for a while and blood platelets and all that other stuff. It was a significant impact on her life.

Speaker 3 Once she was well, Crystal did get her college degree and went on to attend the police academy.

Speaker 13 She went through the police academy with no problems. She didn't have any of her lupus flare-ups.

Speaker 15 Corporal Park and I actually went to the police academy together. She was very determined and strong officer.

Speaker 3 And in October of 2006, 28-year-old Crystal took a job outside Atlanta patrolling a beat for the East Point police.

Speaker 4 She loved being a cop.

Speaker 10 That was her drive.

Speaker 3 And it was soon after taking the job in East Point that Crystal spotted Danielle in an Atlanta club.

Speaker 14 Whenever she wasn't working on duty as a police officer, she worked at one of the clubs in the East Point as security.

Speaker 12 Chris saw her from across the room and said, that is who I want to be with. And went and told her and said, I think you're gorgeous.
I want us to be together. I want to talk to you.

Speaker 12 She did the whole nine and Danielle left with her. That is how they ended up getting together.

Speaker 3 And within days, Danielle had moved in with the police officer.

Speaker 12 She always moved in with her girlfriend. That was something that was really important to her.

Speaker 3 In addition to providing her with a place to live, Crystal showered her new girlfriend with expensive gifts.

Speaker 13 My sister pretty much doted on her. Whatever she wanted, she got.

Speaker 3 And in return, Danielle was devoted to Crystal.

Speaker 4 Danielle catering to Crystal, making sure that food was done and making sure she had her lunch ready for work and things of that nature.

Speaker 12 She was very much the happy housewife, so to speak.

Speaker 3 And a year later, at Atlanta's Pride Festival, Danielle and Crystal made it official.

Speaker 4 During Pride, they have all of the couples come to the park.

Speaker 5 They actually

Speaker 4 do a ceremony, a civil union ceremony.

Speaker 6 This was a relationship that, according to their vows, was until death, do its part.

Speaker 3 And to further build a life together, Crystal helped Danielle get her GED and start a career.

Speaker 4 Danielle wanted to go to nursing school and Crystal said, I support you 100%.

Speaker 4 We're going to make this happen.

Speaker 3 Crystal even paid for her to enroll in a training program to become a certified nursing assistant.

Speaker 12 Chris was the one that was like, if you go to school, I got you. I'll handle all bills.
You don't have to worry about anything.

Speaker 4 Crystal supported Danielle 100%

Speaker 4 in whatever she wanted to do in life.

Speaker 3 And in 2012, Danielle showed her appreciation and devotion by formally changing her last name to Parker.

Speaker 13 My sister was happy that she changed her name.

Speaker 13 She was like proud.

Speaker 3 Danielle had plenty of reasons to be proud of Crystal too. 2012 was a banner year for her police career.

Speaker 4 She was officer of the year. She got promoted to corporal, which was huge, very huge, because that was her career.

Speaker 3 And if that wasn't enough to celebrate, the couple had recently purchased a home in East Point.

Speaker 4 It's a beautiful home, really beautiful home, and they were so excited.

Speaker 3 Although after years patrolling its streets, Crystal knew that while East Point was on its way up, the community still faced challenges.

Speaker 6 East Point has its fair share of crime.

Speaker 3 But Crystal and Danielle were prepared. The couple bought a shotgun and several pistols for home defense.

Speaker 4 Crystal was a protector by nature.

Speaker 3 Crystal also taught Danielle how to use them. In fact, she taught several of their friends, too.

Speaker 4 She taught me how to aim. She taught me the gun safety.

Speaker 3 And yet, when put to the test, none of Crystal's precautions could stop her killer.

Speaker 3 Coming up, the police search for a cop killer.

Speaker 7 There is a possibility that someone she arrested broke into her home and shot her.

Speaker 3 But first, they have to find Danielle.

Speaker 9 That began the focus of their investigation. Where is this person?

Speaker 3 On July 7th, 2013, a family friend called the police and reported that she just found 34-year-old Crystal Parker dead in her East Point, Georgia home.

Speaker 10 Every Sunday, she would come to Crystal's house. She went upstairs to the bedroom and did find the victim deceased in her bed.

Speaker 3 It appeared that she had been murdered.

Speaker 9 Crystal's body was lying in the bed with a bullet hole to her head.

Speaker 3 Based on the condition of the body, Crystal had been dead for several days.

Speaker 15 Her body had began to decompose.

Speaker 3 But the biggest shock of all was when the East Point police arrived on the scene, and they immediately realized that the victim was one of their own.

Speaker 9 When police have lost one of their own prematurely,

Speaker 9 the investigation takes on a different turn. Everyone is definitely on high alert because every detective and police officer feels as if it could be them.

Speaker 3 Although, since the victim was a co-worker, the East Point police handed the case off to the Fulton County investigators.

Speaker 10 I came alerted to it and was asked to assist on the case.

Speaker 3 And one of the first things they had to determine was whether the fact that Crystal was a cop had something to do with her death.

Speaker 9 Being a police officer, you can create so many enemies.

Speaker 7 There is a possibility that someone she arrested was angry at her and wanted to get back back at her, broke into her home and shot her. That was a theory police had to explore.

Speaker 3 Or was she simply a random victim, cut down by the senseless crime she'd spent her career fighting?

Speaker 9 Around this time, the area of East Point was suffering a rash of home burglaries. So the natural thought the police investigated was that this may have been a home invasion.

Speaker 3 However, once they processed the crime scene, the investigators realized that two things argued against a break-in.

Speaker 3 First, as far as the investigators could determine, only two items of value were missing. Crystal's phone, and more importantly, her service weapon.

Speaker 3 But did that mean Crystal's service weapon was also the murder weapon? It would take an autopsy to know for sure.

Speaker 3 But the fact that Crystal might have been killed with her own gun certainly suggested that her killer knew she was a cop.

Speaker 9 Whomever came into her home knew that there would be a weapon there.

Speaker 3 But did that mean it was payback? That someone Crystal previously arrested had come looking for revenge? Since there were no signs of forced entry, the police weren't sure.

Speaker 15 Well, usually looking for forced entry, it's typically somebody who may have access to the residence or has a key. So it's possibly somebody that's known to her.

Speaker 3 Especially since Crystal was very security conscious.

Speaker 4 If Crystal was inside the home, she had the alarm on.

Speaker 3 And then there was the fact that the veteran police officer had been murdered in her bed.

Speaker 9 It seemed as if she may have been caught off guard and didn't know that someone had actually entered her home.

Speaker 3 And the fact that Crystal was caught off guard by her killer raised one possibility to the police. For almost six years, Crystal had been living with 30-year-old Danielle Parker.

Speaker 5 Crystal called Danielle her wife.

Speaker 3 But Crystal was dead, and there was no sign of Danielle.

Speaker 9 That began the focus of their investigation. Where is this person?

Speaker 3 And they didn't have to wait long for an answer. While still at the scene, the friend who'd found Crystal's body received an anxious call from Danielle.

Speaker 15 Danielle was asking her if something was wrong with Crystal because she had heard from another close friend that law enforcement was out at their home.

Speaker 3 And when she found out that Crystal was dead, Danielle started sobbing into the phone.

Speaker 12 She was like, oh my God,

Speaker 12 the love of my life is gone.

Speaker 3 That's what Danielle said. But if that was true, how could she not know that the love of her life was dead? After all, Crystal had been like that for days.

Speaker 3 The answer was simple.

Speaker 15 They had actually recently broken up just before this incident took place.

Speaker 3 As soon as the investigators found out that she and Crystal had broken up three months before the murder, they asked Danielle to come in for a formal statement.

Speaker 10 Danielle Parker was number one on the list to be interviewed.

Speaker 3 When she spoke to the police the next morning, Danielle told them that in recent months, things between her and Crystal had gotten strained.

Speaker 10 She said that they were in a relationship, but they had mutually separated.

Speaker 16 So it was a, let's just take a break. And, you know, you focus on school and, you know, you do that.

Speaker 16 And we'll, you know, what's the talk?

Speaker 10 Her demeanor struck me as odd. There were no tears,

Speaker 10 very little emotion.

Speaker 3 Danielle said that she had moved back in with her mother at the beginning of June. Although, according to what she told the police, it wasn't exactly a breakup.

Speaker 3 It was such a separate

Speaker 3 step.

Speaker 12 Chris was still friendly. Chris was still concerned.

Speaker 3 And while they weren't living together for the moment, Danielle said she had continued to visit Crystal's house in East Point.

Speaker 16 We pretty much talked. Wade was never,

Speaker 17 oh, were you dating?

Speaker 18 Or are we dating?

Speaker 16 It was, you know, how you doing? How's it going? What's been going on?

Speaker 12 She's like, you know, we were working things out.

Speaker 4 I believe they were still sleeping with each other.

Speaker 3 Although, according to Danielle, she hadn't dropped by the house in several days.

Speaker 17 Last time I saw her was last Wednesday.

Speaker 17 What time were we supposed to do?

Speaker 17 Um, right before she went to work, I came over that morning when I left school

Speaker 16 and I saw her that night.

Speaker 17 She came back, and Thursday morning I left her house.

Speaker 17 So the last Thursday morning you saw her? Yes. She went from 27.
Yes.

Speaker 3 That's what Danielle said. But the investigators weren't just going to take her word for it.
Once they had her statement, the investigators contacted Danielle's cell phone provider.

Speaker 10 We sent an emergency request to the phone company. I wanted wanted to verify what she said.

Speaker 3 First, police had to build a timeline of Crystal's last days. When they checked with her supervisor, they discovered that she hadn't come into work on the 4th of July, even though she was scheduled.

Speaker 15 It was very unusual for her to not notify them that she wasn't coming to work.

Speaker 10 When she did not show up to work, one of her supervisors called her. Did not receive an answer.

Speaker 3 Not surprising, since according to the medical examiner, Crystal was probably already dead.

Speaker 10 General time of death, they said, was July 3rd or July 4th.

Speaker 3 However, when the supervisor left Crystal a voicemail, someone had replied via text.

Speaker 10 Somebody from the victim's phone replied back, my father's in the hospital.

Speaker 5 I can't talk now.

Speaker 3 It wasn't like Crystal, according to her captain.

Speaker 4 Normally, she would call and be like, hey, this is what's going on.

Speaker 3 And even more unlike Crystal, she hadn't called in the following morning either when she once again failed to show up for work.

Speaker 10 That same supervisor called again, no answer. Texted again, how's your father doing? Response was, I'm fine.

Speaker 8 Thank you.

Speaker 3 Not only was the second reply strange, investigators discovered the original text about her father wasn't even true.

Speaker 8 They contact the father and he goes, I'm not in the hospital.

Speaker 3 But since investigators now knew that Crystal was already already dead by then, that left them suspecting two things.

Speaker 3 First, whoever had her phone was probably the killer. And second, the killer likely wasn't a home invader or ex-con out for revenge.

Speaker 4 It had to be somebody that she knew.

Speaker 3 Coming up, investigators learned the truth about Crystal and Danielle's relationship.

Speaker 13 My sister gives and gives and gives and got nothing in return.

Speaker 3 And that leaves them wondering, had Crystal finally said enough?

Speaker 17 Get off.

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Speaker 3 By the morning of July 9th, 2013, it had been more than 24 hours since a friend found Crystal Parker murdered in her East Point, Georgia home.

Speaker 9 Something so horrific and so intimate happening in our backyard was something that

Speaker 9 shocked the residents and definitely shook our sense of security.

Speaker 3 And the fact that Crystal served on the East Point Police Force left the community even more shaken.

Speaker 9 Crystal was such a beloved officer in the area.

Speaker 4 Anybody she came across she touched and blessed.

Speaker 3 At first the investigators feared that Crystal might have been targeted because she was a cop.

Speaker 10 Has she arrested the wrong person who came back to exact revenge on her?

Speaker 3 But that theory didn't quite fit with what they learned about the murder weapon.

Speaker 6 The medical examiner found that Crystal Parker was shot in the head with a.38 caliber bullet.

Speaker 9 The weapon that actually killed Crystal Parker was in fact her own service weapon.

Speaker 3 The investigators then wondered if Crystal's death might have something to do with her recent breakup.

Speaker 3 She and 30-year-old Danielle Parker had been married for the past five years, but as Danielle told the police, she had moved out a month earlier.

Speaker 10 Danielle, in her words, agreed to take a break, thinking she was going to come back to Crystal.

Speaker 3 At least that's the way Danielle portrayed it. But when the investigators spoke to Crystal's family, they put a very different spin on things.

Speaker 15 After they broke up, Danielle was kicked out of the household.

Speaker 3 It had been a long time coming, according to family and friends.

Speaker 10 Crystal Parker's father labeled Danielle to be a moocher.

Speaker 14 Crystal paid for the house, she paid for the car, food, groceries, cell phone bill, cable bill, light bill. She paid for everything.

Speaker 3 And the family claimed that while Crystal worked long hours with the East Point police, Danielle spent most most days at home, essentially doing nothing.

Speaker 4 She would be so lazy and lackadaisical.

Speaker 13 She played on her computer. She would play video games, play on her iPad.

Speaker 15 She didn't work and she wasn't very helpful in their relationship at all.

Speaker 3 Danielle had gotten her GED and gone back to school to pursue a nursing degree, but the family claimed that it was only at Crystal's urging.

Speaker 7 Crystal was trying to get her off her feet.

Speaker 6 Do something with your life.

Speaker 12 I don't don't know if the true passion of wanting to be in nursing was truly there. Danielle was mostly doing this so she wouldn't have to work.

Speaker 3 Which meant that Crystal was the couple's sole breadwinner.

Speaker 10 She kind of carried Danielle along for years.

Speaker 3 It was a sacrifice she'd been willing to make at first.

Speaker 13 I do think that one of the main reasons why Crystal was with Dee was because she liked to help people.

Speaker 4 Crystal wanted to make sure that Danielle's dreams were

Speaker 12 fulfilled.

Speaker 3 Although according to both friends and family, Crystal eventually realized she was being played.

Speaker 13 My sister got tired of being the breadwinner, being,

Speaker 13 you know, the one that gives and gives and gives and got nothing in return.

Speaker 3 And friends said that in addition to Crystal's money, Danielle soaked up all of her free time, too.

Speaker 12 She wanted all of your attention. That was a very big thing for her.
You are mine, always going to be mine, and you need to cater to my needs.

Speaker 3 However, as much as she wanted Crystal's complete devotion, friends claimed that Danielle didn't hold herself to the same standard.

Speaker 4 Danielle was cheating on Crystal.

Speaker 4 It hurt Crystal. She would have never thought that someone that she loved and cared about would have done that to her.

Speaker 3 Worse, according to friends, the cheating had continued throughout their relationship.

Speaker 12 They would break up, Chris would take her back, she would cheat again.

Speaker 3 Friends and family said they'd repeatedly urged Crystal to break things off for good.

Speaker 14 We thought Crystal could do better

Speaker 14 because obviously she's doing everything. She's putting all the effort in the relationship and D was not.

Speaker 3 But they said that for years, Crystal could never quite bring herself to end it.

Speaker 14 Dee would call her back, you know, hey, I'm sorry, I'll do better.

Speaker 14 Crystal, you know, give her another chance. She didn't want to end up like, you know, have a failed relationship, so to speak.

Speaker 3 But then, one weekend, a few months before Crystal's death, friends said that Danielle's cheating had finally gone too far.

Speaker 3 According to the couple's friend, Teculvi Salter, Crystal had been moonlighting that night working security at a local club.

Speaker 4 When she would work at the club, Crystal wouldn't get home until almost four or five o'clock in the morning.

Speaker 3 But the night had been slow, so Crystal had left early.

Speaker 4 I was on the phone with her while she was pulling up at her home, and she says,

Speaker 4 this person's car is in my driveway. Why is she at my home at 2.30 in the morning?

Speaker 3 Crystal figured she knew.

Speaker 4 She went through the back door to kind of like surprise them.

Speaker 3 And according to Teculvey, Crystal caught Danielle in the house with another woman danielle made it seem like you know it was innocent like nothing happened but according to friends and family there was no apologizing this time

Speaker 3 crystal had enough all right i'm done moving on i'm just done not only had danielle cheated on crystal she'd brought another woman into their home I think that's where Chris said,

Speaker 12 we're not going to be able to put this back together.

Speaker 3 Crystal had made up her mind, but after years of second chances, Danielle didn't believe they were through.

Speaker 13 She was still doing things to try to get my sister to come around, trying to lure her back.

Speaker 3 And over the next week or so, Crystal's resolve had begun to weaken.

Speaker 12 Crystal was like, we're friends. We've had, we got history, so I just can't cut you out my life.

Speaker 3 According to friends, Danielle was soon coming around the house again, even staying overnight on occasion. And Crystal had continued to give Danielle money.

Speaker 12 If Danielle needed something she could call Chris, I'm going to say they were cordial.

Speaker 3 However, just when it looked as if Danielle had succeeded in worming her way back into Crystal's life, her plan had suffered an unexpected setback.

Speaker 15 Once they broke up and Danielle finally moved out, Crystal had started dating someone else.

Speaker 3 It was a woman who lived in Florida near Crystal's father. And according to her sister, Crystal was in love.

Speaker 6 She seemed really happy.

Speaker 13 She, you you know, seemed like she didn't have a care in the world.

Speaker 3 The question was: How did Danielle feel about Crystal's new love?

Speaker 7 New girlfriend comes in, old girlfriend is pushed out. There's going to be fireworks.

Speaker 3 But was it a motive for murder?

Speaker 3 Questioned after her ex's body had been found in the bed they once shared. Danielle had told police the last time she was at the house was nearly a week before the murder.

Speaker 17 When was the last time you were over at the house?

Speaker 3 But was it the truth? The investigators figured there was one way to find out.

Speaker 10 We were able to gain her phone records.

Speaker 3 And what they revealed was damning.

Speaker 10 When we tracked Danielle's phone, we put her at Crystal Parker's house for 25 hours and 17 minutes from the morning July 3rd to afternoon July 4th.

Speaker 3 Not only had Danielle been in the house around the time that Crystal died, when the investigators compared the records for Danielle and Crystal's phones, they discovered something equally suspicious about the three days that Crystal had been lying dead in her bedroom.

Speaker 6 They realized that Danielle and Crystal's cell phones were pinging together.

Speaker 10 Both phones were tracked up to the same place. in another county just west of Atlanta.

Speaker 3 And from that location, the home of Danielle's mother. Someone had used Crystal's phone to send those texts to her captain, saying Crystal couldn't come into work because her father was ill.

Speaker 6 Those cell phone records were crucial.

Speaker 7 They pointed the finger at Danielle.

Speaker 3 Based on what the investigators had found in the phone records, they descended on Danielle's mother's house on July 9th with a search warrant.

Speaker 6 They found Crystal's wallet. Crystal's phone.

Speaker 3 They also found a single.38 caliber bullet.

Speaker 9 The bullet that was found in Danielle's mother's home matched the caliber of weapon that was actually used to kill Crystal.

Speaker 3 The investigators immediately brought Danielle in for questioning.

Speaker 5 We found a.38

Speaker 17 brown ammunition.

Speaker 19 We found Crystal's cell phone.

Speaker 16 We found some bank cards and her name.

Speaker 16 Her cell phone.

Speaker 6 they had Danielle boxed in.

Speaker 3 And hoping to wring a confession out of her, the investigators showed Danielle the gruesome crime scene photos of Crystal's body.

Speaker 17 This is someone that used to call you wifey or deal, and this is how she was found.

Speaker 10 She had no reaction, absolutely no emotion. For a person that had been together with somebody they said they love for five or six years

Speaker 10 and it was so detached

Speaker 10 uh

Speaker 3 struck me as odd but it was also the person who had rejected danielle

Speaker 3 and the investigators let danielle know they could prove it too

Speaker 18 your phone ping data

Speaker 11 nearby cell phone tower

Speaker 3 Not that the revelation had much impact on her.

Speaker 10 Her demeanor was was classic. Detachment, no remorse.

Speaker 10 Matter of fact.

Speaker 9 She almost acted as if she knew that she was going to be arrested.

Speaker 8 We had probable cause

Speaker 10 to arrest her for the murder of Crystal Parker.

Speaker 9 When we have her killer,

Speaker 17 the public will know.

Speaker 17 East Point Police will know.

Speaker 11 We can have your 15 minutes of bang on the news, media,

Speaker 17 and then you'll be sworn under the burger.

Speaker 3 Coming up, can the prosecutors secure a conviction? It was a circumstantial case without any eyewitnesses, or will a new witness add an unexpected twist?

Speaker 11 Man, this girl says she was married to a dude.

Speaker 3 By July 9th, 2013, it had been 48 hours since 34-year-old East Point, Georgia police officer Crystal Parker had been found dead in her home, a gunshot wound to the back of her head.

Speaker 10 South Fulton County community and the East Point community were very concerned about a carp killer at large.

Speaker 3 But the investigators had just made an arrest. 30-year-old Danielle Parker, Crystal's estranged partner.

Speaker 12 When first hearing that Danielle Parker did this and seeing the picture of her,

Speaker 12 I was speechless.

Speaker 14 I didn't think she would be the type of person to, you know, kill my sister. It never crossed my mind that Dee could have done it.

Speaker 3 The police had some pretty compelling evidence, though. First, Crystal and Danielle's six-year relationship had recently crumbled.

Speaker 10 She was used to a steady income of somebody supporting her.

Speaker 6 Crystal was a gravy tray.

Speaker 7 And when that gravy train stopped,

Speaker 7 Danielle couldn't take it.

Speaker 3 And in addition to a strong motive, the investigators could put her near Crystal's house on the night that she died.

Speaker 10 So records put Danielle Parker on scene.

Speaker 3 Plus, when they searched the home of Danielle's mother, where Danielle had been living ever since Crystal kicked her out, they had recovered Crystal's phone, her wallet, and her credit cards.

Speaker 9 Items that Crystal would have actually had on her person. So it led police to believe that those items were taken from Crystal without her consent.

Speaker 3 They didn't find the murder weapon.

Speaker 6 Crystal's service weapon was never found.

Speaker 3 But the search did find a single.38 caliber round.

Speaker 6 The medical examiner says that Crystal was likely killed with the same caliber bullet.

Speaker 3 It wasn't quite a smoking gun though. So in the days following her arrest, the investigators continued building their case, starting with a search of Danielle's computer.

Speaker 10 What we found was interesting and disturbing and confirming.

Speaker 3 Especially the contents of her search history.

Speaker 10 The topic ranged from how to interview with a police detective to how to pass a lie detector's test.

Speaker 3 And perhaps most damning of all, Danielle had been conducting daily searches for Crystal's obituary before the body was even found.

Speaker 10 Why are you searching obituaries for the victim on July the 5th if you don't already have knowledge that the person's dead?

Speaker 3 Then there was the information the investigators received when they contacted Crystal's new long-distance girlfriend.

Speaker 3 She told the police that Crystal had called her early on the morning of July 4th and they had spoken on the phone.

Speaker 10 So we can confirm that she was alive 6.37 a.m. on July 4th.

Speaker 3 And thanks to Danielle's cell phone records, they knew that she was apparently in the house while Crystal was on the phone with her new girlfriend.

Speaker 7 Police believe that Danielle heard that call or something and became enraged. She realized this relationship was over.
She had to have snapped.

Speaker 10 It was a classic case if I can't have you, nobody else can.

Speaker 3 While the investigators were certain that Danielle was the killer, could they convince a jury?

Speaker 9 It was a circumstantial case without any eyewitnesses.

Speaker 3 But would a surprising new development change that?

Speaker 3 It was in the days after Danielle's arrest when Detective Rasheed Hamilton was looking back through Danielle's film records that something caught his eye.

Speaker 10 There was an individual that drew my attention due to his phone calling Danielle Parker's phone around the time. when we think the homicide happened.

Speaker 3 The number belonged to a man named Quentin. And when the investigators contacted him, he told them that he knew Danielle.
In fact, that wasn't all he said.

Speaker 10 He confirmed to me that he was dating Danielle Parker.

Speaker 3 When he came in for an interview on July 15th, Quentin told the investigators that he'd met Danielle at the beginning of June.

Speaker 19 Did you guys change phone numbers that first day?

Speaker 18 Yes, you take.

Speaker 19 Yeah, we were changing number.

Speaker 18 She got my number, I got hold.

Speaker 3 But when it came to dating, Quentin said that Danielle had preferred to take things slow.

Speaker 18 I have never kissed you, okay.

Speaker 19 Or touched damage.

Speaker 17 The most I got was a hole.

Speaker 3 Although, as Quentin understood it, Danielle had reason to be standoffish.

Speaker 11 She had just broke up with her ex-husband.

Speaker 10 He was under the impression that Danielle Parker was married to

Speaker 10 a male husband.

Speaker 3 And he was pretty surprised when the investigators told him the truth.

Speaker 11 Man, these girl says she was married to a dude.

Speaker 3 And according to Quentin, that wasn't all that Danielle had told him about her husband.

Speaker 10 Danielle Parker explained to him that she was being abused by her husband.

Speaker 3 According to Quentin, that was why Danielle said she had left her marriage. But Danielle also told him that her husband had continued to stalk her.

Speaker 18 She was talking about her husband was at her mama's house, you know, her mama dope, talking about he was going to kill her.

Speaker 10 And she advised, I need you to take care of the situation for me. This young man refused to help.
He explained to her he didn't want to get involved with it.

Speaker 3 Then, on July 4th, Quentin said that Danielle had sent him a text saying that she was going over to her husband's.

Speaker 11 She told me that she was going to get her stuff.

Speaker 18 Like, how long is she left?

Speaker 10 This young man told her to be careful.

Speaker 3 But a little while later, according to Quentin, he'd received a series of frantic texts from Danielle.

Speaker 18 Pick up the phone.

Speaker 6 Where are you?

Speaker 5 I need you.

Speaker 3 Pick up, pick up, pick up.

Speaker 14 Answer the phone, answer the phone, answer the phone.

Speaker 5 I'm trying to call you. I'm trying to call you.

Speaker 5 This mother woke up.

Speaker 10 Danielle Parker says that I did it.

Speaker 10 This young man says you did what?

Speaker 8 Did it, it?

Speaker 10 Danielle Parker tells him in a text message, yes, I did it.

Speaker 18 I ain't got nothing to do with this.

Speaker 11 I ain't know this bitch. You crazy.

Speaker 5 I ain't got no new.

Speaker 3 Whether Danielle was trying to involve him in the murder or build a case for self-defense, Quentin didn't know.

Speaker 3 And while the text wasn't quite a confession from Danielle, it was probably as close as the investigators were going to get.

Speaker 10 I felt like it was a very strong case we had, and the district attorney felt like it was a very strong case we had against her.

Speaker 9 A reasonable person would make the connection that Danielle eventually killed Crystal.

Speaker 3 However, while they were confident in their case, one thing gave them pause.

Speaker 9 Danielle did have much criminal history, and this appeared to have been a crime of passion.

Speaker 3 Considering the circumstances, prosecutors decided not to seek the death penalty. But Danielle was still facing life in prison.
And as her court date approached, Danielle appeared determined to fight.

Speaker 4 Danielle did not want to take a plea deal. She wanted to go to trial.

Speaker 3 After all, it may have been her best shot.

Speaker 9 Anytime a prosecutor goes to trial, it's a crapshoot. You never know what could happen.

Speaker 3 And as it turned out, the case had one more surprise in store.

Speaker 3 Coming up, will the prosecutors be able to secure a conviction?

Speaker 4 Danielle should not see the light of day, ever.

Speaker 3 Or will a surprise twist change everything?

Speaker 14 The district attorney calls us and said, hey, you need to get to the courthouse now.

Speaker 3 On November 5th, 2014, jury selection was scheduled to begin in Danielle Parker's murder trial.

Speaker 3 The 32-year-old was charged with the July 2013 murder of Crystal Parker, her wife of more than five years, and an East Point, Georgia police officer.

Speaker 7 Crystal had a new girlfriend.

Speaker 6 Danielle knew this and Danielle couldn't take it.

Speaker 3 She wasn't just in love with her. Danielle had depended on Crystal for financial support.

Speaker 9 Danielle lost everything when she lost Crystal.

Speaker 3 And the police and prosecutors were convinced that she had taken her revenge.

Speaker 7 All the evidence was against her.

Speaker 3 Not that it had mattered to Danielle, who had turned down the opportunity to cut a plea deal.

Speaker 10 She was going to fight the case, fight the charges against her.

Speaker 3 But then, with the pool of potential jurors waiting in the courthouse, Danielle's attorneys unexpectedly approached the prosecutors.

Speaker 15 All of a sudden, she changed her tone.

Speaker 14 The district attorney calls us and said, hey, you need to get to the courthouse now.

Speaker 14 She's entering a guilty plea.

Speaker 9 That goes to show the strength of the evidence that was against Danielle that she knew she had so much to overcome.

Speaker 3 And without without any kind of prearranged deal, she stood before a Fulton County judge and entered her plea.

Speaker 9 Danielle finally admitted her guilt.

Speaker 3 Although despite pleading guilty to first-degree murder, Danielle remained defiant to the end.

Speaker 14 She never said she was sorry for anything she did.

Speaker 13 She wouldn't look at us. She didn't acknowledge us.
in any kind of way and she wasn't crying she was just

Speaker 13 you know stoneface as usual.

Speaker 3 In return for her guilty plea, she received life in prison with the possibility of parole after 30 years.

Speaker 9 It was to Danielle's advantage to plead guilty because if Danielle had gone to trial and had actually been convicted, it's very likely that she would have gotten a stiffer sentence that she would never even have the possibility of getting out of jail.

Speaker 3 Danielle's sentence was a bitter disappointment for Crystal's friends and family.

Speaker 14 I think the the sentence was almost a slap in the face to us.

Speaker 4 Life with the possibility of parole, Danielle should not see the light of day.

Speaker 14 Ever.

Speaker 3 Because in their minds, what Danielle did wasn't a crime of passion. It was the tragic result of her deadly obsession.

Speaker 12 You should not love someone to death. For you to obsess about someone, for you to mentally want to harm someone because they don't want to be with you, then that's not love.

Speaker 1 Danielle Parker will be eligible for parole in 2044. She will be 62 years old.

Speaker 1 It's all a light-hearted nightmare on our podcast, Morbid.

Speaker 2 We're your hosts, I'm Alina Urquhart, and I'm Ash Kelly.

Speaker 20 And our show is part true crime, part spooky, and part comedy. The stories we cover are well researched.

Speaker 21 Of the 880 men who survived the attack, around 400 would eventually find their way to one another and merge into one larger group.

Speaker 20 With a touch of humor.

Speaker 21 Shout out to her. Shout out to all my therapists out the years.

Speaker 20 There's been like eight of them. A dash of sarcasm and just garnished a bit with a little bit of cursing.

Speaker 21 That motherfucker is not real.

Speaker 20 And if you're a weirdo like us and love to cozy up to a creepy tale of the paranormal, or you love to hop in the Way Back Machine and dissect the details of some of history's most notorious crimes, you should tune in to our podcast, Morbid.

Speaker 2 Follow Morbid on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen to episodes early and ad-free by joining Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts.