How quickly life can change, from a cruise ship photo to a haunting September evening.
"I just went to my knees,"says Denise Hickman.
A former police officer's ride home in Little Rock wasn't supposed to end this way. Not out on a dark road. Not with a gunman beside his car. Not with the piercing sound of gunfire.
"It hurts. No one should die from being murdered. No one should be taken that way," cries Hickman.
The day was ending like so many others had before. Jerry Parks, 47, was driving home to Roland from dinner. The stretch of Chenal Parkway was quiet, remote even. For Parks though, he was on familiar turf.
But the idea of a quiet night at home was about to change forever.
Hickman is Jerry Parks' daughter. She says, "There is not a day goes by that I don't think about my father."
A car came out of nowhere. The driver fired at least 10 shots. Three hit Parks. Windows shattered, the front door punctured. The gunman fled. In the coming days, police worked countless hours collecting bits and pieces of evidence from Parks' car and the general roadside area.
Then Lt. Doc Holladay says, "We will be investigating the background. His associates and family trying to get any information at all to indicate someone that we need to talk to or possible suspect."
Parks was the owner of a security company. He supplied the guards at the 1992 Clinton-Gore campaign headquarters in Little Rock. Speculations grew that Clinton's people were behind Parks' death. Police though ruled out those theories.
But 16 years later, Lt. Terry Hastings says they are no closer to finding the killer.
"We lose a lot of information very quickly because of time," he says. "We really have no evidence to point us in a particular direction."
There haven't been that many people interviewed in this case, really no witnesses. That is because back in 1993, the area of Cantrell and Chenal wasn't what it is today. There were really no homes or businesses, which made it all the more difficult for police to solve.
"There is no closure. It was unnecessary. He was 47. He didn't have to die that way," says Hickman.
Questions loom that this daughter can't shake. What happened that night?
Hickman says, "These people are free. They are living their lives and you know they have hurt a lot of people."
Pictures, greeting cards, and her faith bring comfort. Every day though it's a hurdle. The murder anniversary is the most difficult.
"Yeah it is real hard. I know somebody knows something and I wish they would come clean. Come talk. Tell somebody something," cries Hickman.
In recent months, police have reviewed what few clues they do have. Hastings says they're not giving up, but they need more.
He says, "Right now everybody is still a suspect until we get a clear path we are looking for anybody and everybody."
Meantime, Denise Hickman will keep pushing for the truth.
"I could tell he was proud of me. I loved my father and I would like to see justice served," says Denise.
Hanging onto words she plans to one day make.
"I would tell him I love him and that I am proud to be his daughter," Denise adds.
Jerry Parks' wife, Lois, re-married after his murder. Three years ago, someone stabbed that husband, David Millstein, to death in Mountain Home. Police there won't say if they have any suspects.
Little Rock Police say everyone is still a suspect in Jerry Parks' murder.
If you have any information about the death of Parks, you're asked to call the Little Rock Police Department. That number is 501-371-4636.
You can contact Mountain Home Police Department at 870-425-6336.
THV's Ashley Blackstone will have more on Parks' death coming up on the "THV 10:00 Difference" and also on todaysthv.com.
