When John Parker was ambushed and shot dead, it took police nearly 6 years to uncover the truth. However, the identity of the killer came as a surprise to many.
The Perfect Life
From the outside, John Parker’s life seemed perfect. He was a successful businessman who became a millionaire by age 30. John and his wife Judy Parker married in 1992 and had two daughters together. He lived with his family in an upscale townhome in Crown Point, Indiana along with his two daughters and Judy’s two children from a previous marriage. The couple ran a thriving vacuum cleaner sales business.
But that peaceful life came to an abrupt end on April 17, 2003. On that day, Judy called 911 saying her husband had been shot outside their company office in Merrillville. Arriving on the scene, authorities confirmed the businessman was deceased, shot once in the back of the head.
Judy told police they had driven to the office to retrieve some items. She went back to the vehicle first while John stayed behind talking to the manager. She then suddenly heard two gunshots and saw a figure dressed in black running from the scene. John was slumped over by the car. It was around 10 pm.
Two .38 caliber shell casings were found at the scene. John’s wallet was missing but his jewelry and watch remained. Police initially suspected the motive was a robbery gone wrong.
The Murder Plot
Working with police, Judy said John had previously gotten into a heated argument with a former employee. However, after looking into this person, they were ruled out as a suspect due to a solid alibi. Plus, their dispute had been amicably resolved.
Gathering information from John’s friends, acquaintances, neighbors, and employees, police learned he was a good husband and devoted father who loved his children. However, he did struggle with disciplining Judy’s children from a previous marriage – 15-year-old Danny and 17-year-old Christina.
With no new leads surfacing, four days after the murder, police received a tip from the Crown Point School System about an alleged murder-for-hire plot involving two 15-year-old students that had occurred around 6 months earlier. The teens had been caught with over $1,000 in cash, saying a friend paid them to kill that friend’s stepfather. Notably, the intended target was John Parker.
Assassination Plot
The teenagers were found carrying over $1,000 in cash. They said a friend paid them to kill the friend’s stepfather. That friend was Danny, John’s 15-year-old stepson from his wife. Danny paid his friends to kill his stepfather. However, the two teenagers did not take any action after receiving the money.
At that time, the Crown Point Police Department determined that this hired murder plot was not likely to be carried out to become a criminal act. John and his family were not informed about the incident, and Danny was never investigated.
Upon learning this information, the police immediately summoned Danny to question him about the allegations from his classmates. Judy Parker – Danny’s mother and the victim’s wife – accompanied her son. Danny admitted that he wanted to intimidate his stepfather, so he gave his friends money to assault him. However, Danny did not explain why he had that amount of money. Danny was then detained for inciting assault.
The police investigated the two teenagers hired by Danny and found that neither was a suspect in John’s death.
Although the investigators had evidence of a murder plot, they could not find the gun or the perpetrator. After Danny was released, the police were left with virtually no leads.
Unhappy Marriage
A week after the murder, a former employee who had worked at John’s company provided new information related to Judy’s other child, Christina (17 years old).
This person revealed that Christina had hired them to find someone to kill her stepfather. Christina paid a $100 fee and an additional $500 to pay the shooter. However, like her brother, Christina’s plan failed as no action was taken despite the payment. Christina was then questioned but adamantly denied the allegation.
The police were puzzled as to how the two siblings, Christina and Danny, had so much money to hire a hitman while still in school. They then shifted their investigation to Judy.
Investigators discovered that the once happy and exemplary marriage had turned sour. A friend revealed that John had caught Judy having an affair with an employee at the company. However, John did not intend to divorce her for fear of losing his assets. The friend said John was determined to win his wife back.
But if Judy wanted John dead, the question arose: why? The detectives determined that Judy was the beneficiary of John’s $1 million life insurance policy. This could be a motive for murder. After John was killed, Judy attempted to claim the insurance payout, but the insurance company denied payment due to the ongoing investigation.
Despite suspicions about the financial motive, the police could not find evidence linking Judy to the case. The case stalled for the next 4 years.
A Crucial Clue
Despite the suspicions about Judy Parker’s financial motive – the wife of the victim John Parker – the police could not find evidence linking Judy to her husband’s death. The case stalled for the next 4 years.
In 2007, Judy had remarried another man. Her new husband was a drug dealer. He revealed crucial information to the police. According to him, Judy’s own daughter Christina had said that her brother Danny had shot John. With this statement, the police decided to reopen John’s case. Their first step was to question Christina.
During her interaction with the police, Christina finally admitted to being involved in the plot to kill her stepfather. Christina had purchased a gun from a former classmate, claiming it was for target practice. The money for the gun came from her mother.
She said she had called her stepfather, pretending to forget her homework at the office to lure the victim there. The police then found shell casings confirming that this was the murder weapon.
Christina confessed that this was not the first time she, her mother, and her brother had attempted to kill John. Previously, Judy had tried to poison her husband’s food but failed. However, the woman did not give up. Judy then instructed her children to hire a hitman.
The Murderous Wife
Danny was subsequently arrested. He corroborated his sister’s story and revealed that their mother had forged company checks to obtain $7,500 to pay the hitmen. However, after two failed attempts to find someone, Judy decided not to hire anyone else and instead had her son Danny commit the act.
Judy instructed Christina to lure John to the office, told Danny to wear dark clothing during the crime, and staged it as a robbery. Danny confessed to shooting John only once, but the gun went off again while searching John’s pockets for his wallet, leaving a second casing at the scene. Danny said his mother instructed him to go home, shower, and then help him dispose of the bloodied clothes, gun, and John’s wallet.
According to the police investigation, if Judy divorced John, she would only receive half of his assets, but if he died, she would get everything. Therefore, this woman sought to kill her husband.
To manipulate her children, Judy claimed that John had abused her. Through their mother’s stories, the two children were manipulated and agreed to follow Judy’s demands.
Judy was arrested and pleaded guilty in 2009. In August 2009, she was sentenced to 33 years in prison and will be eligible for parole in 2023. Danny received a 23-year sentence and was released in 2016. Christina was sentenced to 5 years in prison and released in 2013.
