4/09/2013
Updates: Convicted murderer moved
Parks transferred from jail to prison
Convicted murderer Gary Wayne Parks now is at the Ouachita River Correctional Unit. Parks was transferred there Friday from the Baxter County Detention Center.
In a surprise move as his murder trial entered its second week on April 1, Parks, 42, pleaded no contest and was convicted in the June 2006 stabbing death of his 62-year-old stepfather Dr. David Millstein, a Mountain urologist.
The first-degree murder plea agreement called for Parks to serve 20 years in prison with 10 years suspended if he cooperates with authorities by providing information regarding any accomplices or co-conspirators involved in Millstein’s death.
After the surprise plea deal, Lt. Nevin Barnes of the Mountain Home Police Department, the lead investigator in the case, said he hoped to speak with Parks soon regarding any potential accomplices. Barnes said investigators, during the course of the investigation which lasted six years, identified another suspect who may have been involved in the murder, though he declined to name the potential suspect.
When investigators will speak to Parks is not yet known, according to Mountain Home Police Chief Carry Manuel.
“We have not spoken to Gary Parks at this point,” Manuel told The Bulletin Tuesday. “We are working with the prosecutor’s office to determine the most advantageous time to speak with him.”
Should such a conversation lead investigators toward the suspect they’ve identified, Manuel said that information likely will be held close by authorities.
“We won’t divulge any information that could potentially hinder the investigation,” Manuel said.
The unnamed suspect could have ties to a murder that occurred in Little Rock almost 20 years ago. Parks’ biological father, Luther Gerald “Jerry” Parks, was killed Sept. 26, 1993. Jerry Parks shot to death while on Chenal Parkway on the outskirts of Little Rock when another vehicle pulled up beside him.
Several 9mm shell casings were found at the scene, Barnes said, noting the murder has never been solved and the Little Rock Police Department investigation into the crime remains open.
“We have been in contact with Little Rock Police as recently as last week,” Barnes said. “I think they consider the same person a potential suspect in that case as we consider an additional suspect in the Millstein murder.”
Jerry Parks owned a security business that provided protection for the campaign headquarters of President Bill Clinton when he first ran for president.
After Jerry Parks’ death, his wife, Lois Jane Parks, who later married Dr. David Millstein, inherited a significant amount of money along with a business, according to Barnes.
After Millstein’s death, Lois Jane Parks Millstein received $500,000 from a life insurance policy taken out on Millstein, according to court documents.
— Josh Dooley
http://adc.arkansas.gov/inmate_info/search.php?dcnum=154545&lastname=Parks&firstname=Gary&sex=b&agetype=1&__utma=93856461.1383081963.1365220929.1365220929.1365220929.1&__utmz=93856461.1365220929.1.1.utmcsr%3Dgoogle%7Cutmccn%3D%28organic%29%7Cutmcmd%3Dorganic%7Cutmctr%3D%28not+provided%29
In a surprise move as his murder trial entered its second week on April 1, Parks, 42, pleaded no contest and was convicted in the June 2006 stabbing death of his 62-year-old stepfather Dr. David Millstein, a Mountain urologist.
The first-degree murder plea agreement called for Parks to serve 20 years in prison with 10 years suspended if he cooperates with authorities by providing information regarding any accomplices or co-conspirators involved in Millstein’s death.
After the surprise plea deal, Lt. Nevin Barnes of the Mountain Home Police Department, the lead investigator in the case, said he hoped to speak with Parks soon regarding any potential accomplices. Barnes said investigators, during the course of the investigation which lasted six years, identified another suspect who may have been involved in the murder, though he declined to name the potential suspect.
When investigators will speak to Parks is not yet known, according to Mountain Home Police Chief Carry Manuel.
“We have not spoken to Gary Parks at this point,” Manuel told The Bulletin Tuesday. “We are working with the prosecutor’s office to determine the most advantageous time to speak with him.”
Should such a conversation lead investigators toward the suspect they’ve identified, Manuel said that information likely will be held close by authorities.
“We won’t divulge any information that could potentially hinder the investigation,” Manuel said.
The unnamed suspect could have ties to a murder that occurred in Little Rock almost 20 years ago. Parks’ biological father, Luther Gerald “Jerry” Parks, was killed Sept. 26, 1993. Jerry Parks shot to death while on Chenal Parkway on the outskirts of Little Rock when another vehicle pulled up beside him.
Several 9mm shell casings were found at the scene, Barnes said, noting the murder has never been solved and the Little Rock Police Department investigation into the crime remains open.
“We have been in contact with Little Rock Police as recently as last week,” Barnes said. “I think they consider the same person a potential suspect in that case as we consider an additional suspect in the Millstein murder.”
Jerry Parks owned a security business that provided protection for the campaign headquarters of President Bill Clinton when he first ran for president.
After Jerry Parks’ death, his wife, Lois Jane Parks, who later married Dr. David Millstein, inherited a significant amount of money along with a business, according to Barnes.
After Millstein’s death, Lois Jane Parks Millstein received $500,000 from a life insurance policy taken out on Millstein, according to court documents.
— Josh Dooley
http://adc.arkansas.gov/inmate_info/search.php?dcnum=154545&lastname=Parks&firstname=Gary&sex=b&agetype=1&__utma=93856461.1383081963.1365220929.1365220929.1365220929.1&__utmz=93856461.1365220929.1.1.utmcsr%3Dgoogle%7Cutmccn%3D%28organic%29%7Cutmcmd%3Dorganic%7Cutmctr%3D%28not+provided%29
4/02/2013
Parks pleads no contest in Millstein murder case
http://www.baxterbulletin.com/article/20130402/NEWS01/304020025/Parks-pleads-no-contest-Millstein-murder-case
Prosecutor: Agreement opens door to 'bring to justice others'
Written By: Josh Dooley
In a stunning move, Gary Wayne Parks’ capital murder trial ended Monday when he pleaded no contest to killing Dr. David Millstein. He was found guilty and received a 30-year sentence with 10 years suspended for first-degree murder on the condition he cooperate with authorities as they continue investigating the case.
Parks, 42, had been on trial since March 25 in Baxter County Circuit Court for the June 2006 murder of Millstein, his 62-year-old stepfather, a Mountain Home urologist. He could have been sentenced to life imprisonment without parole if convicted on the capital murder charge.
Monday’s session was to have begun with Circuit Judge John Putman expected to rule whether the jury would be allowed to hear testimony from a former Baxter County jailer who said Parks confessed to her that he killed his stepfather. However, while the jury was sequestered in a separate room, Baxter County Prosecutor Ron Kincade and Deputy Prosecutor Kerry Chism moved back and forth between Putman’s chambers and the office occupied by Parks and his defense team — attorneys Danny Glover and Joe Perry.
Shortly after 10 a.m., with the jury still out of the room, Parks and his attorneys joined Putman in the courtroom. Putman asked Kincade if a plea agreement had been reached, and Kincade indicated an agreement had, indeed, been reached.
When Putman asked if he was pleading no contest to first-degree murder, Parks, in a low voice, responded, “Yes, sir.”
Putman then went through the rights Parks was giving up with the plea, including the right to appeal. After going over the plea with Parks, Putman asked Kincade if the agreement served the interests of justice.
“Your honor, if I may make a statement about that,” Kincade said, before proceeding. “I have come to this decision with some reluctance, and all of my staff is not in agreement. I do think we’ve presented evidence to the jury to prove that this defendant killed Dr. Millstein.”
“I do this for the family of Dr. Millstein, specifically Aaron and Richard (Millstein’s biological sons).
No one in this room, or this community, has lost more than these two young men. This assures one, a conviction. There’s no appeal, the family will have closure,” Kincade told the judge. “I’m well aware the defense has evidence to present, and the case is only half over. We owe a debt to the family.”
“It gives us an opportunity to examine and potentially bring to justice others who may have been involved in the murder of Dr. Millstein,” added Kincade. “This plea provides that opportunity.”
Putman then asked Parks’ attorneys if they had gone over the the potential ramifications with Parks. Glover and Perry said they had discussed all the relevant matters with Parks prior to him signing off on the agreement.
In response to Putman asking what sentence the state recommended, Kincade listed the time prosecutors wanted Parks to serve in jail. In addition, Kincade also set out what authorities wanted from Parks in the way of information.
“Judge, the state’s recommending 30 years in the Arkansas Department of Corrections, 10 of those years suspended with 20 years to do, that he will provide truthful testimony and cooperation against any accomplices or co-defendants that may have been involved in the murder of Dr. Millstein,” Kincade said.
Putman asked Parks if he had anything to say before sentencing.
In a low voice, Parks replied, “No, sir.”
“Let me just say this,” Putman began. “I practiced law both as a defense attorney and as a deputy prosecutor, and I think I understand criminal law. I think I understand trying cases, and I know that there’s a lot to be argued on both sides of this case.
“Sometimes there has to be compromise. Given this crime, and the way it was committed, the only reason — the only reason — I’m accepting this plea is because of an agreement of full cooperation against potential co-conspirators or accomplices. That is the reason I’m willing to go with this,” said Putman.
After a day of jury selection and through the course of four days of testimony, more than 35 witnesses testified and more than 100 pieces of evidence were introduced by the prosecution. Before the plea agreement was announced, prosecutors had a computer with speakers set up Monday morning, the same gear they used to play a clandestine recording made by police of a conversation between Parks and Charles Enoch Miller, a friend of Parks.
Prosecutors told the court they had three more recordings they wanted to play to the jury.
• Dec. 8, 2009 — Police arrest Gary Wayne Parks on a charge of capital murder for the stabbing death of Millstein, his stepfather.
• January 2012 — Baxter County Prosecutor Ron Kincade announces the state will not seek the death penalty for Millstein’s murder.
• 2011-2012 — Parks’ trial is delayed three times, twice at the request of defense attorneys who asked for more preparation time and once because of new testimony expected to be presented.
• March 25, 2013 — Gary Wayne Parks’ capital murder trial begins with jury selection.
• April 1, 2013 — Gary Wayne Parks enters a no-contest plea to a reduced charge of first-degree murder and is sentenced to 30 years in prison, with 10 years suspended if he cooperates with investigators who say he may have had help in planning Millstein’s death, and want Parks to tell them about any accomplice or co-conspirator.
Prosecutor: Agreement opens door to 'bring to justice others'
Written By: Josh Dooley
In a stunning move, Gary Wayne Parks’ capital murder trial ended Monday when he pleaded no contest to killing Dr. David Millstein. He was found guilty and received a 30-year sentence with 10 years suspended for first-degree murder on the condition he cooperate with authorities as they continue investigating the case.
Parks, 42, had been on trial since March 25 in Baxter County Circuit Court for the June 2006 murder of Millstein, his 62-year-old stepfather, a Mountain Home urologist. He could have been sentenced to life imprisonment without parole if convicted on the capital murder charge.
Monday’s session was to have begun with Circuit Judge John Putman expected to rule whether the jury would be allowed to hear testimony from a former Baxter County jailer who said Parks confessed to her that he killed his stepfather. However, while the jury was sequestered in a separate room, Baxter County Prosecutor Ron Kincade and Deputy Prosecutor Kerry Chism moved back and forth between Putman’s chambers and the office occupied by Parks and his defense team — attorneys Danny Glover and Joe Perry.
Shortly after 10 a.m., with the jury still out of the room, Parks and his attorneys joined Putman in the courtroom. Putman asked Kincade if a plea agreement had been reached, and Kincade indicated an agreement had, indeed, been reached.
When Putman asked if he was pleading no contest to first-degree murder, Parks, in a low voice, responded, “Yes, sir.”
Putman then went through the rights Parks was giving up with the plea, including the right to appeal. After going over the plea with Parks, Putman asked Kincade if the agreement served the interests of justice.
“Your honor, if I may make a statement about that,” Kincade said, before proceeding. “I have come to this decision with some reluctance, and all of my staff is not in agreement. I do think we’ve presented evidence to the jury to prove that this defendant killed Dr. Millstein.”
“I do this for the family of Dr. Millstein, specifically Aaron and Richard (Millstein’s biological sons).
No one in this room, or this community, has lost more than these two young men. This assures one, a conviction. There’s no appeal, the family will have closure,” Kincade told the judge. “I’m well aware the defense has evidence to present, and the case is only half over. We owe a debt to the family.”
“It gives us an opportunity to examine and potentially bring to justice others who may have been involved in the murder of Dr. Millstein,” added Kincade. “This plea provides that opportunity.”
Putman then asked Parks’ attorneys if they had gone over the the potential ramifications with Parks. Glover and Perry said they had discussed all the relevant matters with Parks prior to him signing off on the agreement.
In response to Putman asking what sentence the state recommended, Kincade listed the time prosecutors wanted Parks to serve in jail. In addition, Kincade also set out what authorities wanted from Parks in the way of information.
“Judge, the state’s recommending 30 years in the Arkansas Department of Corrections, 10 of those years suspended with 20 years to do, that he will provide truthful testimony and cooperation against any accomplices or co-defendants that may have been involved in the murder of Dr. Millstein,” Kincade said.
Putman asked Parks if he had anything to say before sentencing.
In a low voice, Parks replied, “No, sir.”
“Let me just say this,” Putman began. “I practiced law both as a defense attorney and as a deputy prosecutor, and I think I understand criminal law. I think I understand trying cases, and I know that there’s a lot to be argued on both sides of this case.
“Sometimes there has to be compromise. Given this crime, and the way it was committed, the only reason — the only reason — I’m accepting this plea is because of an agreement of full cooperation against potential co-conspirators or accomplices. That is the reason I’m willing to go with this,” said Putman.
After a day of jury selection and through the course of four days of testimony, more than 35 witnesses testified and more than 100 pieces of evidence were introduced by the prosecution. Before the plea agreement was announced, prosecutors had a computer with speakers set up Monday morning, the same gear they used to play a clandestine recording made by police of a conversation between Parks and Charles Enoch Miller, a friend of Parks.
Prosecutors told the court they had three more recordings they wanted to play to the jury.
Millstein Murder Timeline
• June 18, 2006 — Mountain Home police discover Dr. David Millstein’s body after being asked to check on his welfare.• Dec. 8, 2009 — Police arrest Gary Wayne Parks on a charge of capital murder for the stabbing death of Millstein, his stepfather.
• January 2012 — Baxter County Prosecutor Ron Kincade announces the state will not seek the death penalty for Millstein’s murder.
• 2011-2012 — Parks’ trial is delayed three times, twice at the request of defense attorneys who asked for more preparation time and once because of new testimony expected to be presented.
• March 25, 2013 — Gary Wayne Parks’ capital murder trial begins with jury selection.
• April 1, 2013 — Gary Wayne Parks enters a no-contest plea to a reduced charge of first-degree murder and is sentenced to 30 years in prison, with 10 years suspended if he cooperates with investigators who say he may have had help in planning Millstein’s death, and want Parks to tell them about any accomplice or co-conspirator.
Parks may not have acted alone
http://www.baxterbulletin.com/article/20130402/NEWS01/304020026/Parks-may-not-acted-alone
Written by: Josh Dooley
While the Gary Wayne Parks murder trial ended Monday with his no-contest plea to first-degree murder in the June 2006 death of his stepfather, Dr. David Millstein, the investigation into the slaying continues, according to Lt. Nevin Barnes of the Mountain Home Police Department.
“Gary Parks killed Dr. Millstein,” Barnes told The Bulletin Monday after Parks was sentenced to 30 years in prison for the killing. “During the investigation, we uncovered some facts that indicate someone may have been involved in the planning of the murder.”
Baxter County Prosecutor Ron Kincade recommended to Circuit Judge John Putman that 10 years of Parks’ sentence be suspended if he cooperates with investigators and provides information about any accomplices or co-conspirators he had in Millstein’s murder.
Putman reluctantly agreed to the recommendation.
“The only reason I’m accepting this plea is because of an agreement of full cooperation against potential co-conspirators or accomplices,” Putman said. “That is the reason I’m willing to go along with this.”
A single additional individual has been identified as being potentially involved in the murder, according to Barnes.
“We’re looking at a single suspect at this time. We don’t anticipate others, though that could change if new information came to light,” Barnes said Monday afternoon, declining to name the suspect.
Gary Parks’ biological father, Luther Gerald “Jerry” Parks, was killed Sept. 26, 1993. Jerry Parks was driving on Chenal Parkway on the outskirts of Little Rock when another vehicle pulled up beside him.
A witness stated he heard gunshots, and then the second vehicle pulled away at a high rate of speed, according to a police report.
Several 9mm shell casings were found at the scene, Barnes said, noting the murder has never been solved and the Little Rock Police Department investigation into the crime remains open.
“We have been in contact with Little Rock Police as recently as last week,” Barnes said. “I think they consider the same person a potential suspect in that case as we consider an additional suspect in the Millstein murder.”
Jerry Parks owned a security business that provided protection for the campaign headquarters of President Bill Clinton when he first ran for president.
After Jerry Parks’ death, his wife, Lois Jane Parks, who later married Dr. David Millstein, inherited a significant amount of money along with a business, according to Barnes.
After Millstein’s death, Lois Jane Parks Millstein received $500,000 from a life insurance policy taken out on Millstein, according to court documents.
Gary Parks eventually will be transferred from the Baxter County jail to a facility within the Arkansas Department of Corrections system. Barnes said he hopes investigators get to speak with Parks about any potential accomplice prior to that expected transfer.
“We want to do this as quick as possible,” Barnes said.
Barnes has spent almost seven years working on the Millstein murder, and while he said he was relieved to see Parks go to prison, he was not entirely satisfied with the outcome.
“Personally, I didn’t feel it was enough,” Barnes said of the sentence Parks received. “But, I also understand why the prosecutor did what he did. I respect him and stand with him.”
Parks will have to serve a total of 15 years before he is eligible for parole, according to Kincade. Parks already has served a little more than three years in the Baxter County jail awaiting trial. With Putman granting him credit for time already served, Parks could spend as little as slightly less than 12 years in prison for Millstein’s murder.
Written by: Josh Dooley
While the Gary Wayne Parks murder trial ended Monday with his no-contest plea to first-degree murder in the June 2006 death of his stepfather, Dr. David Millstein, the investigation into the slaying continues, according to Lt. Nevin Barnes of the Mountain Home Police Department.
“Gary Parks killed Dr. Millstein,” Barnes told The Bulletin Monday after Parks was sentenced to 30 years in prison for the killing. “During the investigation, we uncovered some facts that indicate someone may have been involved in the planning of the murder.”
Baxter County Prosecutor Ron Kincade recommended to Circuit Judge John Putman that 10 years of Parks’ sentence be suspended if he cooperates with investigators and provides information about any accomplices or co-conspirators he had in Millstein’s murder.
Putman reluctantly agreed to the recommendation.
“The only reason I’m accepting this plea is because of an agreement of full cooperation against potential co-conspirators or accomplices,” Putman said. “That is the reason I’m willing to go along with this.”
A single additional individual has been identified as being potentially involved in the murder, according to Barnes.
“We’re looking at a single suspect at this time. We don’t anticipate others, though that could change if new information came to light,” Barnes said Monday afternoon, declining to name the suspect.
A cold case gets new life
The unnamed suspect could have ties to a murder that occurred in Little Rock almost 20 years ago.Gary Parks’ biological father, Luther Gerald “Jerry” Parks, was killed Sept. 26, 1993. Jerry Parks was driving on Chenal Parkway on the outskirts of Little Rock when another vehicle pulled up beside him.
A witness stated he heard gunshots, and then the second vehicle pulled away at a high rate of speed, according to a police report.
Several 9mm shell casings were found at the scene, Barnes said, noting the murder has never been solved and the Little Rock Police Department investigation into the crime remains open.
“We have been in contact with Little Rock Police as recently as last week,” Barnes said. “I think they consider the same person a potential suspect in that case as we consider an additional suspect in the Millstein murder.”
Jerry Parks owned a security business that provided protection for the campaign headquarters of President Bill Clinton when he first ran for president.
After Jerry Parks’ death, his wife, Lois Jane Parks, who later married Dr. David Millstein, inherited a significant amount of money along with a business, according to Barnes.
After Millstein’s death, Lois Jane Parks Millstein received $500,000 from a life insurance policy taken out on Millstein, according to court documents.
Gary Parks eventually will be transferred from the Baxter County jail to a facility within the Arkansas Department of Corrections system. Barnes said he hopes investigators get to speak with Parks about any potential accomplice prior to that expected transfer.
“We want to do this as quick as possible,” Barnes said.
Barnes has spent almost seven years working on the Millstein murder, and while he said he was relieved to see Parks go to prison, he was not entirely satisfied with the outcome.
“Personally, I didn’t feel it was enough,” Barnes said of the sentence Parks received. “But, I also understand why the prosecutor did what he did. I respect him and stand with him.”
Parks will have to serve a total of 15 years before he is eligible for parole, according to Kincade. Parks already has served a little more than three years in the Baxter County jail awaiting trial. With Putman granting him credit for time already served, Parks could spend as little as slightly less than 12 years in prison for Millstein’s murder.
4/01/2013
Parks enters no contest plea
http://ktlo.com/wire/newsmon/03126_PARKS_ENTERS_NO_CONTEST_PLEA_124042.php
Written by: Ray Dean Davis
In a surprise move this morning in Baxter County Circuit Court capital murder defendant Gary Wayne Parks entered a no contest plea to a reduced charge of first degree murder. In accordance with the agreement, Circuit Judge John Putman sentenced Parks to 30 years in prison, with 10 years suspended. Parks will also be given credit for the slightly more than three years he has served in the Baxter County Detention Center.
In addition, as part of the plea agreement, Parks agreed to cooperate with authorities in any future cases involving accomplices or co-conspirators in the 2006 murder of Dr. David Millstein of Mountain Home.
Ray Dean Davis has more on the story.
The plea came on what would have been the fifth day of testimony in the case. Judge Putman said the only reason he was accepting the plea agreement was due to the part of it that requires Parks' cooperation in further investigation of the crime.
Prosecutor Ron Kincade said it was with some reluctance that he came to the decision to agree with the plea. He said some of his staff was not in agreement with the decision.
Kincade said he decided to go along with it for the Millstein family, specifically Dr. Millstein's sons, Aaron and Richard. He said the family has suffered enough in the matter. He said he had spoken with family members and believed they agreed with the decision.
Kincade also said the plea gives authorities an opportunity to look at others who may have been involved in the crime.
Parks answered yes and no questions from the judge concerning the plea. When asked if he had anything to say before sentencing, Parks quietly answered no.
The charge of first-degree murder could have carried a sentence of 10 to 40 years or life in prison. Parks was also ordered to pay $470 in court related fees.
His no contest plea means he isn't admitting guilt in the murder, but acknowledges that the state might have enough evidence to convict him if the case went to the jury. He will not be able to appeal the plea and he will be eligible for parole at some point.
Parks was charged with the stabbing death of Dr. Millstein, his stepfather, in June of 2006 at the Millstein residence in Mountain Home. The prosecution had presented four days worth of testimony from witness. The defense had not yet presented its case.
Written by: Ray Dean Davis
In a surprise move this morning in Baxter County Circuit Court capital murder defendant Gary Wayne Parks entered a no contest plea to a reduced charge of first degree murder. In accordance with the agreement, Circuit Judge John Putman sentenced Parks to 30 years in prison, with 10 years suspended. Parks will also be given credit for the slightly more than three years he has served in the Baxter County Detention Center.
In addition, as part of the plea agreement, Parks agreed to cooperate with authorities in any future cases involving accomplices or co-conspirators in the 2006 murder of Dr. David Millstein of Mountain Home.
Ray Dean Davis has more on the story.
The plea came on what would have been the fifth day of testimony in the case. Judge Putman said the only reason he was accepting the plea agreement was due to the part of it that requires Parks' cooperation in further investigation of the crime.
Prosecutor Ron Kincade said it was with some reluctance that he came to the decision to agree with the plea. He said some of his staff was not in agreement with the decision.
Kincade said he decided to go along with it for the Millstein family, specifically Dr. Millstein's sons, Aaron and Richard. He said the family has suffered enough in the matter. He said he had spoken with family members and believed they agreed with the decision.
Kincade also said the plea gives authorities an opportunity to look at others who may have been involved in the crime.
Parks answered yes and no questions from the judge concerning the plea. When asked if he had anything to say before sentencing, Parks quietly answered no.
The charge of first-degree murder could have carried a sentence of 10 to 40 years or life in prison. Parks was also ordered to pay $470 in court related fees.
His no contest plea means he isn't admitting guilt in the murder, but acknowledges that the state might have enough evidence to convict him if the case went to the jury. He will not be able to appeal the plea and he will be eligible for parole at some point.
Parks was charged with the stabbing death of Dr. Millstein, his stepfather, in June of 2006 at the Millstein residence in Mountain Home. The prosecution had presented four days worth of testimony from witness. The defense had not yet presented its case.
Parks accepts plea bargain: 30 years in prison
http://www.baxterbulletin.com/article/20130401/NEWS01/130401001/Parks-accepts-plea-bargain-30-years-prison?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|FRONTPAGE
Written by: Bulletin Staff
Gary Wayne Parks, 42, pleaded nolo contendre to a first-degree murder charge and accepted a plea bargain this morning. Parks was accused of killing his stepfather, Dr. David Millstein, a Mountain Home urologist, in June 2006.
Parks agreed to serve 30 years in prison, with 10 years suspended and credit for time served, and he has been incarcerated since December 2009.
Written by: Bulletin Staff
Gary Wayne Parks, 42, pleaded nolo contendre to a first-degree murder charge and accepted a plea bargain this morning. Parks was accused of killing his stepfather, Dr. David Millstein, a Mountain Home urologist, in June 2006.
Parks agreed to serve 30 years in prison, with 10 years suspended and credit for time served, and he has been incarcerated since December 2009.
Parks murder trial enters second week today
http://ktlo.com/wire/newsmon/03083_Parks_trial_enters_second_week_today_072722.php
By: Richard Hester
The start of week two of the capital murder trial of Gary Wayne Parks begins this morning in Baxter County Circuit Court as the State continues to present its case. Parks is being tried for the alleged murder of his stepfather, Dr. David Millstein of Mountain Home, in June of 2006.
On Friday, the State presented six witnesses including one of Park's best friends, Enoch Miller of Little Rock, who told the court Parks told him about four days after Millstein was murdered that he had done it. Miller said Parks told him Millstein had hurt his mother because she had invested money in his medical practice and his business was falling off. He said Parks claimed he had been at Millstein's house and had "lost it" and that he went into a rage and stabbed Millstein as he was sleeping.
Another witness, Alan Gwin, also of Little Rock, testified that Parks asked him two weeks prior to the murder what he would think about killing someone for a large amount of money. The State has contended the motive for the murder was financial and Millstein had a $500,000 life insurance policy.
The prosecution is expected to continue presenting witnesses today with the defense expected to argue its case sometime later this week.
By: Richard Hester
The start of week two of the capital murder trial of Gary Wayne Parks begins this morning in Baxter County Circuit Court as the State continues to present its case. Parks is being tried for the alleged murder of his stepfather, Dr. David Millstein of Mountain Home, in June of 2006.
On Friday, the State presented six witnesses including one of Park's best friends, Enoch Miller of Little Rock, who told the court Parks told him about four days after Millstein was murdered that he had done it. Miller said Parks told him Millstein had hurt his mother because she had invested money in his medical practice and his business was falling off. He said Parks claimed he had been at Millstein's house and had "lost it" and that he went into a rage and stabbed Millstein as he was sleeping.
Another witness, Alan Gwin, also of Little Rock, testified that Parks asked him two weeks prior to the murder what he would think about killing someone for a large amount of money. The State has contended the motive for the murder was financial and Millstein had a $500,000 life insurance policy.
The prosecution is expected to continue presenting witnesses today with the defense expected to argue its case sometime later this week.
Parks affidavit unsealed: Document sheds new light
http://www.baxterbulletin.com/article/20130401/NEWS01/304010019/Parks-affidavit-unsealed-Document-sheds-new-light
Written by: Josh Dooley
On Friday, Baxter County Circuit Court Judge John Putman unsealed the probable cause affidavit filed by police in December 2009 in order to obtain an arrest warrant for Gary Wayne Parks in connection with his stepfather’s murder.
Parks, 42, is currently on trial for the June 2006 murder of his stepfather, Dr. David Millstein, a Mountain Home urologist. The affidavit was prepared by Lt. Nevin Barnes of the Mountain Home Police Department.
While much of what is contained in the affidavit has been the subject of court testimony last week, some of the statements in the affidavit have not been testified to, and may never be put before the jury.
Other information contained in the affidavit may yet come before the jury as the trial, barring a plea agreement or other unexpected resolution, is scheduled to resume this morning.
No witnesses have described seeing Parks with anything that could potentially be the murder weapon.
However, in the affidavit, Barnes describes a witness who told investigators he did see Parks with a weapon following Millstein’s murder.
Alan Gwin testified on Friday and told the jury Parks came to his home after Millstein had been murdered.
“He came in and said something happened to his stepfather,” Gwin said in court.
Gwin also testified that in another conversation, Parks asked Gwin what God would think about killing someone for a large amount of money.
What the jury did not get to hear, and what the affidavit says Gwin told investigators, is that approximately a week after Millstein’s murder, Parks went to Gwin’s home, talked about his days as a Navy SEAL, and began talking about a knife.
“He stated Gary Parks was talking about his knife when he went out to his vehicle and came back with a knife,” Barnes wrote in the affidavit of what Gwin told investigators in February 2007. “He described the knife as a military looking knife with a six to seven inch single edge blade with a hilt. He said Gary Parks asked him to hold the knife and feel it. The witness stated that he got a really ‘eerie’ feeling about his behavior and the knife.”
Jurors have already heard Barnes testify as to some of the conversations he had with Parks during the course of the investigation.
Two days after police found Millstein’s body in the bedroom of his Stephens Court residence, police interviewed Parks.
“Gary Parks requested to know the details of the investigation and asked if someone came in and decapitated him,” Barnes wrote in the affidavit. “Gary Parks stated he could reach out into the ‘meth’ community and find out who it was. Gary Parks stated different groups have their own ways of homicide.”
During testimony last week, Barnes told jurors that Parks offered two other theories for who killed Millstein. Barnes told jurors that on one day Parks told him the KKK killed Millstein. The very next day, Barnes told the jury, Parks said it was a “homosexual killing.”
The timeline of Parks’ movements before and immediately after Millstein’s murder has been the subject of the testimony of several witnesses during the trial, though little has been definitive.
In the affidavit, Barnes said Parks told him on June 20, 2006, that he was at a Maumelle restaurant until 9 p.m. or 9:30 p.m. on Friday, June 16, 2006. After leaving the restaurant, Parks went to a birthday party until 1 a.m. on Saturday, June 17, 2006, Barnes said in the affidavit.
In an interview less than a month later, Parks told police he got home at 9 p.m. on Friday June 16, 2006, spent the night with his daughter, and never left the house again, according to the affidavit.
During a third interview, Parks reportedly told police he did attend the party, got home between 12:30 a.m. and 1 a.m., and didn’t leave the house again until after 8:30 a.m. Saturday morning.
“During the telephone conversation Jane Millstein said she had not slept well and didn’t know when she would be available to make a statement,” Barnes wrote in the affidavit. “Jane Millstein told the investigator that they stayed with Millstein three to four days and left Friday afternoon. She stated Millstein was supposed to come to Maumelle that weekend, but he never showed up. Jane Millstein stopped and said she didn’t want to answer anymore questions without an attorney.”
Jurors heard an audio recording Friday of conversation between Parks and Miller obtained after police put a hidden recording device on Miller and sent him to attempt to get evidence against Parks. Jurors heard a 90-minute profanity-laced conversation during which Parks never openly admits to killing Millstein.
Other recordings were made, Barnes wrote in the affidavit.
According to the affidavit, more than one recording was made where Miller tells Parks police are going to charge Miller with being a conspirator in the murder. During those conversations, according to the affidavit, Parks made the following statements:
• “They wanna build a fake case and get you to tell them the story.”
• “You are the only person that they think I might confess something to, because they have nothing else.”
“I know what they don’t have, physical evidence. You know me, I will never admit (expletive deleted). Nobody, anywhere, anytime, ever.”
• “I guess being a sociopath is a blessing to somebody without a conscience.”
“They have no (expletive deleted) clothes with blood on it, they have no (expletive deleted) murder weapon, they can’t put me within a hundred miles of Mountain Home.”
Barnes wrote in the affidavit that during one of the recordings, Parks addresses the critical time period of late Friday night June 16 and the early morning hours of June 17, 2006.
“Gary Parks later tells the witness (Miller), ‘that he has every bit of time (accounted for), except for five (expletive deleted) hours Friday – Saturday early, early Saturday morning. They can put me in Little Rock ... that whole time except for five hours.’”
That time period is critical, as that’s when authorities allege Parks killed his stepfather. Many witnesses have testified Parks attended a birthday party on the Friday night prior to Millstein’s murder, though none of the witnesses agreed on exactly when Parks left.
Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Kerry Chism indicated to the judge Friday that prosecutors expect to play three more recordings for the jury.
Putman is expected to rule this morning if the jury will be allowed to hear the testimony of former Baxter County jailer Linda Henryk who testified during a suppression hearing Friday that while employed at the jail, Parks confessed to her that he killed Millstein.
If convicted, Parks faces up to life in prison without parole.
Written by: Josh Dooley
On Friday, Baxter County Circuit Court Judge John Putman unsealed the probable cause affidavit filed by police in December 2009 in order to obtain an arrest warrant for Gary Wayne Parks in connection with his stepfather’s murder.
Parks, 42, is currently on trial for the June 2006 murder of his stepfather, Dr. David Millstein, a Mountain Home urologist. The affidavit was prepared by Lt. Nevin Barnes of the Mountain Home Police Department.
While much of what is contained in the affidavit has been the subject of court testimony last week, some of the statements in the affidavit have not been testified to, and may never be put before the jury.
Other information contained in the affidavit may yet come before the jury as the trial, barring a plea agreement or other unexpected resolution, is scheduled to resume this morning.
No witnesses have described seeing Parks with anything that could potentially be the murder weapon.
However, in the affidavit, Barnes describes a witness who told investigators he did see Parks with a weapon following Millstein’s murder.
Alan Gwin testified on Friday and told the jury Parks came to his home after Millstein had been murdered.
“He came in and said something happened to his stepfather,” Gwin said in court.
Gwin also testified that in another conversation, Parks asked Gwin what God would think about killing someone for a large amount of money.
What the jury did not get to hear, and what the affidavit says Gwin told investigators, is that approximately a week after Millstein’s murder, Parks went to Gwin’s home, talked about his days as a Navy SEAL, and began talking about a knife.
“He stated Gary Parks was talking about his knife when he went out to his vehicle and came back with a knife,” Barnes wrote in the affidavit of what Gwin told investigators in February 2007. “He described the knife as a military looking knife with a six to seven inch single edge blade with a hilt. He said Gary Parks asked him to hold the knife and feel it. The witness stated that he got a really ‘eerie’ feeling about his behavior and the knife.”
Parks talks to police
It’s unknown if Parks will take the stand and testify. During voir dire (questioning potential jurors), defense attorney Danny Glover asked potential jurors if they understood Parks had the right not to testify and if they understood the law says if he does not testify, jurors cannot take that into account in deciding Parks’ innocence or guilt.Jurors have already heard Barnes testify as to some of the conversations he had with Parks during the course of the investigation.
Two days after police found Millstein’s body in the bedroom of his Stephens Court residence, police interviewed Parks.
“Gary Parks requested to know the details of the investigation and asked if someone came in and decapitated him,” Barnes wrote in the affidavit. “Gary Parks stated he could reach out into the ‘meth’ community and find out who it was. Gary Parks stated different groups have their own ways of homicide.”
During testimony last week, Barnes told jurors that Parks offered two other theories for who killed Millstein. Barnes told jurors that on one day Parks told him the KKK killed Millstein. The very next day, Barnes told the jury, Parks said it was a “homosexual killing.”
The timeline of Parks’ movements before and immediately after Millstein’s murder has been the subject of the testimony of several witnesses during the trial, though little has been definitive.
In the affidavit, Barnes said Parks told him on June 20, 2006, that he was at a Maumelle restaurant until 9 p.m. or 9:30 p.m. on Friday, June 16, 2006. After leaving the restaurant, Parks went to a birthday party until 1 a.m. on Saturday, June 17, 2006, Barnes said in the affidavit.
In an interview less than a month later, Parks told police he got home at 9 p.m. on Friday June 16, 2006, spent the night with his daughter, and never left the house again, according to the affidavit.
During a third interview, Parks reportedly told police he did attend the party, got home between 12:30 a.m. and 1 a.m., and didn’t leave the house again until after 8:30 a.m. Saturday morning.
Parks' mother doesn't talk to police
One June 20, 2006, investigators called Lois Jane Parks Millstein to discuss her husband’s murder, and according to the affidavit, that was the first contact police had with her following her husband’s death.“During the telephone conversation Jane Millstein said she had not slept well and didn’t know when she would be available to make a statement,” Barnes wrote in the affidavit. “Jane Millstein told the investigator that they stayed with Millstein three to four days and left Friday afternoon. She stated Millstein was supposed to come to Maumelle that weekend, but he never showed up. Jane Millstein stopped and said she didn’t want to answer anymore questions without an attorney.”
The Charles Enoch Miller recordings
One of the prosecution’s most important witnesses, Charles Enoch Miller, testified on Friday last week that Parks broke down and confessed he killed his stepfather, stabbing him several times because Millstein was draining his mother’s money.Jurors heard an audio recording Friday of conversation between Parks and Miller obtained after police put a hidden recording device on Miller and sent him to attempt to get evidence against Parks. Jurors heard a 90-minute profanity-laced conversation during which Parks never openly admits to killing Millstein.
Other recordings were made, Barnes wrote in the affidavit.
According to the affidavit, more than one recording was made where Miller tells Parks police are going to charge Miller with being a conspirator in the murder. During those conversations, according to the affidavit, Parks made the following statements:
• “They wanna build a fake case and get you to tell them the story.”
• “You are the only person that they think I might confess something to, because they have nothing else.”
“I know what they don’t have, physical evidence. You know me, I will never admit (expletive deleted). Nobody, anywhere, anytime, ever.”
• “I guess being a sociopath is a blessing to somebody without a conscience.”
“They have no (expletive deleted) clothes with blood on it, they have no (expletive deleted) murder weapon, they can’t put me within a hundred miles of Mountain Home.”
Barnes wrote in the affidavit that during one of the recordings, Parks addresses the critical time period of late Friday night June 16 and the early morning hours of June 17, 2006.
“Gary Parks later tells the witness (Miller), ‘that he has every bit of time (accounted for), except for five (expletive deleted) hours Friday – Saturday early, early Saturday morning. They can put me in Little Rock ... that whole time except for five hours.’”
That time period is critical, as that’s when authorities allege Parks killed his stepfather. Many witnesses have testified Parks attended a birthday party on the Friday night prior to Millstein’s murder, though none of the witnesses agreed on exactly when Parks left.
Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Kerry Chism indicated to the judge Friday that prosecutors expect to play three more recordings for the jury.
Putman is expected to rule this morning if the jury will be allowed to hear the testimony of former Baxter County jailer Linda Henryk who testified during a suppression hearing Friday that while employed at the jail, Parks confessed to her that he killed Millstein.
If convicted, Parks faces up to life in prison without parole.
3/30/2013
Parks trial witness says defendant admitted to killing stepfather
http://ktlo.com/wire/newsfri/07180_PARKS_TRIAL-FIFTH_DAY_170656.php
By: Ray Dean Davis
A prosecution witness in the Gary Parks capital murder trial testified today that Parks admitted to killing his stepfather, Dr. David Millstein, in June of 2006. However, the statement wasn't made when the witness was interviewed shortly after the murder, leading defense attorneys to question the validity of the statement.
Enoch Miller of Little Rock, who said he was one of Gary Parks' best friends in June of 2006, said Parks told him about four days after the murder that he had done it. Miller said he told Parks he didn't want to be brought into the case and asked, "Why are you telling me this?" He said Parks replied,
"What would you do if someone was hurting your mother?"
Miller said Parks explained by saying his mother had invested money into Dr. Millstein's practice and business was falling off. He said Parks then told him he was at Millstein's house when he "lost it," went into a rage and stabbed the doctor as he lay asleep.
Miller said he told Parks, "I don't want to know this stuff."
On cross examination, defense attorney Danny Glover pointed out that Miller had given a statement to investigators soon after the murder and hadn't mentioned Parks' confession at that time.
Miller said at the time he didn't want to feel like a narc. He said he later talked to his father, who is a minister, and also spoke with a friend. He said they convinced him that he would have to live with whatever decision he made about his information.
Miller said he was in court today because he know it was the right thing to do.
Glover asked Miller if Mountain Home Police Department Investigator Nevin Barnes had given him some money and had helped him out with legal troubles of his own when he was charged with driving on a suspended license in Flippin. Miller said Barnes had helped him pay the fine with money out of his own pocket. He denied that the investigator had gotten involved with any of his other legal matters.
Miller also admitted that in 2006 he abused narcotics.
Miller also agreed to wear a hidden microphone on some occasions when he was around Parks.
Among the other six witnesses who testified for the prosecution today was Alan Gwin, also of Little Rock. Gwin testified that about two weeks prior to Dr. Millstein's murder Gary Parks asked him what he would think about killing someone for a large amount of money.
Again, Attorney Glover pointed out that Gwin had not included that information in his statement to investigators shortly after the murder. Gwin said he hadn't been asked for that specific information and hadn't volunteered it.
The prosecution hasn't finished with its witnesses yet and will offer more testimony in the case Monday. Sometime next week the defense will begin presenting its case.
By: Ray Dean Davis
A prosecution witness in the Gary Parks capital murder trial testified today that Parks admitted to killing his stepfather, Dr. David Millstein, in June of 2006. However, the statement wasn't made when the witness was interviewed shortly after the murder, leading defense attorneys to question the validity of the statement.
Enoch Miller of Little Rock, who said he was one of Gary Parks' best friends in June of 2006, said Parks told him about four days after the murder that he had done it. Miller said he told Parks he didn't want to be brought into the case and asked, "Why are you telling me this?" He said Parks replied,
"What would you do if someone was hurting your mother?"
Miller said Parks explained by saying his mother had invested money into Dr. Millstein's practice and business was falling off. He said Parks then told him he was at Millstein's house when he "lost it," went into a rage and stabbed the doctor as he lay asleep.
Miller said he told Parks, "I don't want to know this stuff."
On cross examination, defense attorney Danny Glover pointed out that Miller had given a statement to investigators soon after the murder and hadn't mentioned Parks' confession at that time.
Miller said at the time he didn't want to feel like a narc. He said he later talked to his father, who is a minister, and also spoke with a friend. He said they convinced him that he would have to live with whatever decision he made about his information.
Miller said he was in court today because he know it was the right thing to do.
Glover asked Miller if Mountain Home Police Department Investigator Nevin Barnes had given him some money and had helped him out with legal troubles of his own when he was charged with driving on a suspended license in Flippin. Miller said Barnes had helped him pay the fine with money out of his own pocket. He denied that the investigator had gotten involved with any of his other legal matters.
Miller also admitted that in 2006 he abused narcotics.
Miller also agreed to wear a hidden microphone on some occasions when he was around Parks.
Among the other six witnesses who testified for the prosecution today was Alan Gwin, also of Little Rock. Gwin testified that about two weeks prior to Dr. Millstein's murder Gary Parks asked him what he would think about killing someone for a large amount of money.
Again, Attorney Glover pointed out that Gwin had not included that information in his statement to investigators shortly after the murder. Gwin said he hadn't been asked for that specific information and hadn't volunteered it.
The prosecution hasn't finished with its witnesses yet and will offer more testimony in the case Monday. Sometime next week the defense will begin presenting its case.
Parks trial update: Miller testifies Parks confessed to him
http://www.baxterbulletin.com/article/20130329/NEWS01/130329005/Parks-trial-update-Miller-testifies-Parks-confessed-him
Written by: Bulletin Staff
Charles Enoch Miller, a man prosecutors say was a close friend of Parks in June 2006, is testifying this afternoon in the Gary Wayne Parks murder.
Police put a “wire” on Miller for at least one conversation with Parks. The jury is expected to her clandestine recordings made by the police of conversations between Parks and Miller.
Miller just testified that Parks came to his home sobbing and confessed to stabbing Millstein to death.
Written by: Bulletin Staff
Charles Enoch Miller, a man prosecutors say was a close friend of Parks in June 2006, is testifying this afternoon in the Gary Wayne Parks murder.
Police put a “wire” on Miller for at least one conversation with Parks. The jury is expected to her clandestine recordings made by the police of conversations between Parks and Miller.
Miller just testified that Parks came to his home sobbing and confessed to stabbing Millstein to death.
Witness: Parks sobbed then confessed to slaying Millstein
http://www.baxterbulletin.com/article/20130329/NEWS01/303290047/Witness-Parks-sobbed-then-confessed-slaying-Millstein
Suppression hearing held regarding second witness who says Parks confessed; Judge to rule Monday
Written by: Josh Dooley
“He told me that he did it,” Charles Enoch Miller testified Friday during the capital murder trial of Gary Wayne Parks.
Parks, 42, is accused of the June 17, 2006, murder of his stepfather, Dr. David Millstein, a Mountain Home urologist who was stabbed and cut 30 times at his Stephens Court residence in Mountain Home.
That’s when Parks confessed to killing his stepfather, Miller told the jury.
“He told me that he did it. He told me that he killed him,” Miller told the silenced audience in the courtroom. “He told me he just went into a rage and just lost it. He just went crazy and stabbed him. Stabbed him multiple times.”
Miller said Parks told him Millstein was asleep in bed when he attacked him.
Miller asked Parks why he told him about the murder, and told Parks he didn’t want to know anything about the murder.
“He asked me what I would do if someone was hurting my mother,” said Miller. “The business was going downhill, his mother invested in it, and it just wasn’t doing as well as they thought.”
Before testifying about Parks’ reported confession, under questioning by Baxter County Prosecuting Attorney Ron Kincade, Miller described how he became friends with Parks.
Miller said he had a flat tire one day, and Parks stopped to help him. The two struck up a relationship from that point, doing typical “guy things” Miller told the jury.
For Parks and Miller, some of those typical things included drinking, doing drugs, and frequenting prostitutes, Miller said. They also went fishing and went to bars, Miller said.
Kincade asked Miller if he’d had multiple problems with the law, if he used drugs, if he had been an alcoholic. Miller said yes to all those questions. Miller also said when initially contacted by police, he did not reveal Parks’ reported sobbing confession because he was uncomfortable doing so.
“I wasn’t going to be a narc,” Miller said. “I wasn’t going to tell on someone, I wasn’t going to play God. I didn’t know if Gary was telling the truth.”
Later, Miller testified, he changed his mind. Kincade asked Miller what made him change his mind.
“I called my father. I called two people actually, my dad and a friend, an attorney,” said Miller. “I called my father and asked him simply what he would do. He said, ‘You’ll have to live with it.’”
Miller testified he used three to seven grams of cocaine per week, and that he was using it daily.
Miller also testified he was also using Xanax, hydrocodone and oxycodone during the same time-frame, though he had prescriptions for those drugs.
Glover then aggressively questioned Miller about what — if any — help with legal and financial problems he got from law enforcement officers involved in the murder investigation.
Miller told the jury Lt. Nevin Barnes of the Mountain Home Police Department paid $100 towards a fine.
“You had a warrant out and you were facing going to jail in Flippin, is that right?” Glover asked Miller. “There was a warrant out for you for not showing up because you couldn’t pay your fine, right?”
Miller agreed there was a warrant out for him.
“And Mr. Barnes out of his own pocket gave you money so you could pay that fine, right?” Glover asked. “And he called over there to negotiate the reduction of some other fines, right?”
Miller said he could not remember.
Glover asked Miller if he only started helping helping police after police helped him pay fines. Miller said that was not the case.
Glover asked Miller if he was currently facing charges of burglary, theft and forgery in the Little Rock area, and if he was scheduled to be in court next week regarding those charges. Miller said he was due in court, but had not been charged yet.
Under redirect by Kincade, Miller responded indignantly when Kincade asked him if he was testifying because Barnes paid a fine for him.
“For $200, I wouldn’t sell out my best friend,” Miller said heatedly. “I did it for my daughter. It backfired on me. I know it, and he knows it.”
Defense attorneys Glover and Joe Perry filed a verbal motion to exclude the testimony of former
Baxter County jailer Linda Henryk.
During the hearing, Henryk told Baxter County Circuit Court Judge John Putman she was a corporal at the jail in the spring of 2010 when Parks asked to see her regarding his medications.
Henryk testified she was alone with Parks in the jail’s multipurpose room during the discussion.
Henryk said Parks told her he suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder and that he was prone to being violent and angry if he did not have his medications.
“He said he was not a bad person,” Henryk testified. “I told him Gary, you’re facing some serious charges. He said, “I know, I did it. I wasn’t on my medications, I wasn’t responsible for my actions.’
Perry cross-examined Henryk during the hearing and asked her if she knew whether Parks had an attorney. Henryk said yes. Perry then asked if she read Parks his Miranda rights during their conversation. Henryk said no.
Perry then asked if Henryk knew Parks had invoked his Miranda rights prior to their conversation.
Henryk again said no she did not know.
Perry asked Henryk if she made a notation, on paper, electronic or otherwise, of the conversation.
“No,” Henryk replied. “I told my supervisor Lt. Randy Weaver about the conversation.”
Judge Putman told the attorneys he would issue a ruling Monday whether the jury would be allowed to hear Henryk’s testimony.
Ponder, Andrea Harris and Randy Harris all testified that on Sunday, June 18, 2006, Parks said his stepfather had been murdered. None could recall exactly when Parks told them, but Ponder said it was still daylight when Parks told him. Matt Nelson testified Parks told him of Millstein’s death before 10 p.m.
MHPD officer Sam Seamans told the jury in earlier testimony that he did not inform Parks of Millstein’s murder until late Sunday night.
Putman noted the document would become public once officials felt it would no longer harm the investigation to reveal the information contained in the affidavit.
The document describes what evidence police had gathered to implicate Parks in the murder of his stepfather.
The Bulletin requested Friday that the affidavit be unsealed. That request was granted, and The Bulletin will publish a story in Monday’s edition describing what was contained in the affidavit.
Suppression hearing held regarding second witness who says Parks confessed; Judge to rule Monday
Written by: Josh Dooley
“He told me that he did it,” Charles Enoch Miller testified Friday during the capital murder trial of Gary Wayne Parks.
Parks, 42, is accused of the June 17, 2006, murder of his stepfather, Dr. David Millstein, a Mountain Home urologist who was stabbed and cut 30 times at his Stephens Court residence in Mountain Home.
The friend and the 'confession'
Miller testified he was washing his boat outside his Little Rock home on June 22, 2006, when Parks drove up. Parks crossed his arms, put them on the boat, dropped his head to rest it on his arms, and broke down sobbing.That’s when Parks confessed to killing his stepfather, Miller told the jury.
“He told me that he did it. He told me that he killed him,” Miller told the silenced audience in the courtroom. “He told me he just went into a rage and just lost it. He just went crazy and stabbed him. Stabbed him multiple times.”
Miller said Parks told him Millstein was asleep in bed when he attacked him.
Miller asked Parks why he told him about the murder, and told Parks he didn’t want to know anything about the murder.
“He asked me what I would do if someone was hurting my mother,” said Miller. “The business was going downhill, his mother invested in it, and it just wasn’t doing as well as they thought.”
Before testifying about Parks’ reported confession, under questioning by Baxter County Prosecuting Attorney Ron Kincade, Miller described how he became friends with Parks.
Miller said he had a flat tire one day, and Parks stopped to help him. The two struck up a relationship from that point, doing typical “guy things” Miller told the jury.
For Parks and Miller, some of those typical things included drinking, doing drugs, and frequenting prostitutes, Miller said. They also went fishing and went to bars, Miller said.
Kincade asked Miller if he’d had multiple problems with the law, if he used drugs, if he had been an alcoholic. Miller said yes to all those questions. Miller also said when initially contacted by police, he did not reveal Parks’ reported sobbing confession because he was uncomfortable doing so.
“I wasn’t going to be a narc,” Miller said. “I wasn’t going to tell on someone, I wasn’t going to play God. I didn’t know if Gary was telling the truth.”
Later, Miller testified, he changed his mind. Kincade asked Miller what made him change his mind.
“I called my father. I called two people actually, my dad and a friend, an attorney,” said Miller. “I called my father and asked him simply what he would do. He said, ‘You’ll have to live with it.’”
Cross-examination
Defense attorney Danny Glover cross-examined Miller and immediately dove into Miller’s drug use.Miller testified he used three to seven grams of cocaine per week, and that he was using it daily.
Miller also testified he was also using Xanax, hydrocodone and oxycodone during the same time-frame, though he had prescriptions for those drugs.
Glover then aggressively questioned Miller about what — if any — help with legal and financial problems he got from law enforcement officers involved in the murder investigation.
Miller told the jury Lt. Nevin Barnes of the Mountain Home Police Department paid $100 towards a fine.
“You had a warrant out and you were facing going to jail in Flippin, is that right?” Glover asked Miller. “There was a warrant out for you for not showing up because you couldn’t pay your fine, right?”
Miller agreed there was a warrant out for him.
“And Mr. Barnes out of his own pocket gave you money so you could pay that fine, right?” Glover asked. “And he called over there to negotiate the reduction of some other fines, right?”
Miller said he could not remember.
Glover asked Miller if he only started helping helping police after police helped him pay fines. Miller said that was not the case.
Glover asked Miller if he was currently facing charges of burglary, theft and forgery in the Little Rock area, and if he was scheduled to be in court next week regarding those charges. Miller said he was due in court, but had not been charged yet.
Under redirect by Kincade, Miller responded indignantly when Kincade asked him if he was testifying because Barnes paid a fine for him.
“For $200, I wouldn’t sell out my best friend,” Miller said heatedly. “I did it for my daughter. It backfired on me. I know it, and he knows it.”
Suppression hearing
The jury was excused from the courtroom Friday shortly before 4 p.m. With just one spectator and a few court personnel in the room, a suppression hearing was held.Defense attorneys Glover and Joe Perry filed a verbal motion to exclude the testimony of former
Baxter County jailer Linda Henryk.
During the hearing, Henryk told Baxter County Circuit Court Judge John Putman she was a corporal at the jail in the spring of 2010 when Parks asked to see her regarding his medications.
Henryk testified she was alone with Parks in the jail’s multipurpose room during the discussion.
Henryk said Parks told her he suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder and that he was prone to being violent and angry if he did not have his medications.
“He said he was not a bad person,” Henryk testified. “I told him Gary, you’re facing some serious charges. He said, “I know, I did it. I wasn’t on my medications, I wasn’t responsible for my actions.’
Perry cross-examined Henryk during the hearing and asked her if she knew whether Parks had an attorney. Henryk said yes. Perry then asked if she read Parks his Miranda rights during their conversation. Henryk said no.
Perry then asked if Henryk knew Parks had invoked his Miranda rights prior to their conversation.
Henryk again said no she did not know.
Perry asked Henryk if she made a notation, on paper, electronic or otherwise, of the conversation.
“No,” Henryk replied. “I told my supervisor Lt. Randy Weaver about the conversation.”
Judge Putman told the attorneys he would issue a ruling Monday whether the jury would be allowed to hear Henryk’s testimony.
The party and the timeline
Two witnesses, Andrea Harris and Chris Ponder testified Friday that they saw Parks at a birthday party in Little Rock on the night of Friday, June 16, 2006. Both testified they did not know exactly when he left that party.Ponder, Andrea Harris and Randy Harris all testified that on Sunday, June 18, 2006, Parks said his stepfather had been murdered. None could recall exactly when Parks told them, but Ponder said it was still daylight when Parks told him. Matt Nelson testified Parks told him of Millstein’s death before 10 p.m.
MHPD officer Sam Seamans told the jury in earlier testimony that he did not inform Parks of Millstein’s murder until late Sunday night.
The probable cause affidavit
The probable cause affidavit for Parks’ arrest has been sealed since it became part of the official record on December 18, 2009, after Kincade requested Putman seal the document from public view. Kincade argued that if the affidavit remained a public document, it could hamper the ongoing investigation.Putman noted the document would become public once officials felt it would no longer harm the investigation to reveal the information contained in the affidavit.
The document describes what evidence police had gathered to implicate Parks in the murder of his stepfather.
The Bulletin requested Friday that the affidavit be unsealed. That request was granted, and The Bulletin will publish a story in Monday’s edition describing what was contained in the affidavit.
3/29/2013
Detective calls Parks behavior 'bizarre'
http://www.baxterbulletin.com/article/20130329/NEWS01/303290021/
Suspect hounded investigators in Millstein murder
By JOSH DOOLEY
Mountain Home Police Lt. Nevin Barnes testified Thursday that Gary Wayne Parks told him two different theories on two consecutive days about who was responsible for Dr. David Millstein’s brutal June 2006 murder. Parks first told Barnes he had heard the KKK was responsible for Millstein’s death, then the next day said the Mountain Home urologist’s murder was a homosexual killing.
Millstein, 62, was found dead with 30 stab and cutting wounds at his 1707 Stephens Court residence on June 18, 2006. Authorities believe he was killed in the early morning hours of June 17. Parks, 42, was arrested and charged with Millstein’s murder more than three years later.
Thursday marked the fourth day of Parks’ capital murder trial in Baxter County Circuit Court.
Barnes testified many of his interactions with Parks throughout the case struck him as strange. “I told him, ‘Gary you said yesterday the KKK killed him, now you’re saying it was a homosexual killing’ ” Barnes told the jury. “He said ‘I did?’ and I said yeah, you did.”
On the stand, Barnes explained that he became involved in the original crime scene work as he was attending a course at the FBI academy. Upon arriving back in Mountain Home on the day after Millstein’s body was discovered, Barnes told the jury, he joined the investigation and took over as the lead investigator.
During another conversation with Parks, according to Barnes, he said he had a friend from high school who worked at the Arkansas State Crime Lab who told him Millstein’s death was particularly brutal. In testimony Wednesday, Arkansas State Medical Examiner Dr. Charles Kokes told the jury Millstein’s attacker stabbed and cut him 30 times, and that the number of wounds was “overkill.”
Barnes told the jury that in yet another conversation Parks revealed knowledge of the killing. “He asked me what was going on with the burning in the bedroom,” Barnes told the court. “He said whatever happened there wasn’t completed.”
In earlier testimony, MHPD detective Robert Hardin testified attempts had been made to burn Millstein’s body and his home.
Barnes told the jury that Parks contacted him six or seven times during the first few months of the investigation, asking him what was happening in the case, and if anything new had been learned. Barnes said this struck him as unusual because he’d told Parks that he could not reveal information regarding the investigation, and felt Parks was trying to insert himself into the case.
Barnes said Parks’ behavior was bizarre, and the conversations the two men had were bizarre.
Little Rock connections
Barnes told the jury he drove to Little Rock about 40 different times searching for people who knew Parks, hoping to gather information. Barnes learned Parks frequented prostitutes, so Barnes paid prostitutes to tell him what they knew about Parks and anything he might have said to them about the murder.
According to Barnes, people who knew Parks told him he should speak to a man named Enoch Miller, because Miller was Parks’ closest friend.
Investigators spoke to Miller twice. The second time they spoke with him, Miller agreed to wear a wire and record conversations he had with Parks. Barnes testified Miller wore a wire during two face-to-face meetings with Parks, and that investigators also recorded at least two phone conversations Miller had with Parks.
Shortly after that testimony, Circuit Court Judge John Putman called the attorneys to the bench for a conference out of the jury’s hearing. After that conversation, Deputy Prosecutor Kerry Chism told the jury he would not playing those tapes for the jury at that time.
Cross-examination
Defense attorney Joe Perry, cross-examining Barnes, immediately got on the offensive to paint Parks as cooperating with authorities, and to remind jurors nothing of evidentiary value was found Parks’ condo or his Toyota FJ Cruiser.
On July 1, 2006, officers executed two search warrants, one for the Maumelle condo Parks shared with his mother — Lois Jane Parks Millstein, the wife of Millstein — and Parks’ Toyota FJ Cruiser.
The search of the condo revealed an Oral-B Brush Up in the room Barnes said Parks occupied at the condo. Packaging for an Oral-B Brush Up was found in Millstein’s bed by investigators when they searched it after Millstein’s body was discovered.
Earlier testimony revealed investigators could not find other brush ups in Millstein’s home despite an extensive search.
Barnes told the jury that despite a three-hour search of the condo, they found nothing to tie Parks directly to Millstein’s murder. Barnes also said nothing useful for the case was found in the Toyota.
In addition, Perry asked Barnes if the timing of Parks’ arrest had anything to do with the upcoming election of Baxter County Prosecutor Ron Kincade or Baxter County Sheriff John Montgomery.
Barnes bristled at the suggestion.
“I don’t work for the sheriff’s office,” Barnes told Perry. “This is a Mountain Home police case. Police investigate, prosecutors prosecute.”
Millstein’s own son
Barnes wasn’t the only witness testifying Thursday who described Parks’ behavior as bizarre after Millstein’s murder. Aaron Millstein, the urologist’s biological son, now an attorney living in Washington state, took the stand to tell the jury about conversations he had with Parks after his father’s death.
Aaron Millstein told the jury that June 17, 2006 was his 20th birthday, and he had expected to hear from his father that weekend wishing him a happy birthday. Instead, a day after his birthday, he received a call late at night from police telling him his father was dead.
Aaron Millstein said he was devastated upon learning his father was dead. He questioned MHPD Officer Sam Seamans, who informed Aaron of his dad’s death, as to how it happened.
“At first I thought it was a heart attack,” Aaron told the jury. “At no point did we think it was anything but natural causes.”
That changed almost immediately when Parks and Aaron Millstein spoke over the phone shortly afterwards.
Aaron Millstein testified that Parks told him not to talk to police and not to allow police to put him in a “little room” and interview him, and that he would be coming to Mountain Home with the best criminal defense attorney in the state.
“I thought why would we not want to cooperate with the police, why would we not want to help try to find out what happened,” said Aaron Millstein. “It struck me as bizarre. It made me intensely suspicious at the time.”
Defense attorney Danny Glover cross-examined Aaron Millstein and asked him about a statement he gave to authorities after his father’s murder. He agreed he told investigators he didn’t know anyone who would want to hurt his father, and that his father always treated Parks like a son.
Glover asked him if he knew Parks was an alcoholic, a drug user and someone who told tall tales. Aaron Millstein replied that he knew Parks had a drug problem, that he drank, and that Parks once told him he was a Navy SEAL.
Still under questioning from Glover, Aaron Millstein told the jury that he knew Lois Jane Parks Millstein argued with his father about money, and that the Parks and Millstein families went through litigation regarding who should receive money from his father’s life insurance, although he wasn’t well informed about that court battle.
“I was more concerned about who killed my father than I was about the money,” Aaron Millstein told the jury.
The cell phone
An engineer for AT&T, Lanny Shepherd, was called to testify about a cell phone prosecutors say was used by Parks.
Shepherd told the jury the cell phone “went dark” at 10:30 p.m. Friday June 16, 2006, and was not in use again until 6 a.m. the next morning. That window of time is when prosecutors say Millstein was killed.
Shepherd told the jury that during the three days prior to that dark time, the cell phone was in constant use and never went silent for nearly as long a period of time.
Under cross-examination, Shepherd said the way the phone appeared on the company’s network was consistent with having a dead battery as well as being turned off by the user.
The houseboat
Another witness from Washington made an appearance in court Thursday. Marion Wright told the jury he worked at a business in Heber Springs that sold houseboats, and that Parks — whom prosecutors painted as jobless — came to the business some time between June 5 and June 12 of 2006 and inquired about a houseboat that was for sale.
Wright told the jury the houseboat’s price was $42,000 and that during conversations, he told Parks he would sell it to him for $35,000.
Several days later, Wright received a phone call from Parks.
“He told me he was in his attorney’s office, he said his dad had been stabbed to death, and that he was going to the medical examiner’s officer,” Wright recounted the conversation. “He said after that he would come by to talk about the houseboat.”
Wright told the jury Parks never mentioned how he was going to pay for the houseboat. When Wright later contacted Parks about the boat, a woman Wright described as elderly answered the phone and said Parks wasn’t buying a boat.
Under cross-examination, Perry asked Wright if people came to the business and just looked at boats without buying. Wright agreed that some people did that. Wright also said serious buyers asked more and specific questions than Parks ever did.
Testimony resumes today at the Baxter County Court Complex. If convicted, Parks faces life in prison without parole.
Suspect hounded investigators in Millstein murder
By JOSH DOOLEY
Mountain Home Police Lt. Nevin Barnes testified Thursday that Gary Wayne Parks told him two different theories on two consecutive days about who was responsible for Dr. David Millstein’s brutal June 2006 murder. Parks first told Barnes he had heard the KKK was responsible for Millstein’s death, then the next day said the Mountain Home urologist’s murder was a homosexual killing.
Millstein, 62, was found dead with 30 stab and cutting wounds at his 1707 Stephens Court residence on June 18, 2006. Authorities believe he was killed in the early morning hours of June 17. Parks, 42, was arrested and charged with Millstein’s murder more than three years later.
Thursday marked the fourth day of Parks’ capital murder trial in Baxter County Circuit Court.
Barnes testified many of his interactions with Parks throughout the case struck him as strange. “I told him, ‘Gary you said yesterday the KKK killed him, now you’re saying it was a homosexual killing’ ” Barnes told the jury. “He said ‘I did?’ and I said yeah, you did.”
On the stand, Barnes explained that he became involved in the original crime scene work as he was attending a course at the FBI academy. Upon arriving back in Mountain Home on the day after Millstein’s body was discovered, Barnes told the jury, he joined the investigation and took over as the lead investigator.
During another conversation with Parks, according to Barnes, he said he had a friend from high school who worked at the Arkansas State Crime Lab who told him Millstein’s death was particularly brutal. In testimony Wednesday, Arkansas State Medical Examiner Dr. Charles Kokes told the jury Millstein’s attacker stabbed and cut him 30 times, and that the number of wounds was “overkill.”
Barnes told the jury that in yet another conversation Parks revealed knowledge of the killing. “He asked me what was going on with the burning in the bedroom,” Barnes told the court. “He said whatever happened there wasn’t completed.”
In earlier testimony, MHPD detective Robert Hardin testified attempts had been made to burn Millstein’s body and his home.
Barnes told the jury that Parks contacted him six or seven times during the first few months of the investigation, asking him what was happening in the case, and if anything new had been learned. Barnes said this struck him as unusual because he’d told Parks that he could not reveal information regarding the investigation, and felt Parks was trying to insert himself into the case.
Barnes said Parks’ behavior was bizarre, and the conversations the two men had were bizarre.
Little Rock connections
Barnes told the jury he drove to Little Rock about 40 different times searching for people who knew Parks, hoping to gather information. Barnes learned Parks frequented prostitutes, so Barnes paid prostitutes to tell him what they knew about Parks and anything he might have said to them about the murder.
According to Barnes, people who knew Parks told him he should speak to a man named Enoch Miller, because Miller was Parks’ closest friend.
Investigators spoke to Miller twice. The second time they spoke with him, Miller agreed to wear a wire and record conversations he had with Parks. Barnes testified Miller wore a wire during two face-to-face meetings with Parks, and that investigators also recorded at least two phone conversations Miller had with Parks.
Shortly after that testimony, Circuit Court Judge John Putman called the attorneys to the bench for a conference out of the jury’s hearing. After that conversation, Deputy Prosecutor Kerry Chism told the jury he would not playing those tapes for the jury at that time.
Cross-examination
Defense attorney Joe Perry, cross-examining Barnes, immediately got on the offensive to paint Parks as cooperating with authorities, and to remind jurors nothing of evidentiary value was found Parks’ condo or his Toyota FJ Cruiser.
On July 1, 2006, officers executed two search warrants, one for the Maumelle condo Parks shared with his mother — Lois Jane Parks Millstein, the wife of Millstein — and Parks’ Toyota FJ Cruiser.
The search of the condo revealed an Oral-B Brush Up in the room Barnes said Parks occupied at the condo. Packaging for an Oral-B Brush Up was found in Millstein’s bed by investigators when they searched it after Millstein’s body was discovered.
Earlier testimony revealed investigators could not find other brush ups in Millstein’s home despite an extensive search.
Barnes told the jury that despite a three-hour search of the condo, they found nothing to tie Parks directly to Millstein’s murder. Barnes also said nothing useful for the case was found in the Toyota.
In addition, Perry asked Barnes if the timing of Parks’ arrest had anything to do with the upcoming election of Baxter County Prosecutor Ron Kincade or Baxter County Sheriff John Montgomery.
Barnes bristled at the suggestion.
“I don’t work for the sheriff’s office,” Barnes told Perry. “This is a Mountain Home police case. Police investigate, prosecutors prosecute.”
Millstein’s own son
Barnes wasn’t the only witness testifying Thursday who described Parks’ behavior as bizarre after Millstein’s murder. Aaron Millstein, the urologist’s biological son, now an attorney living in Washington state, took the stand to tell the jury about conversations he had with Parks after his father’s death.
Aaron Millstein told the jury that June 17, 2006 was his 20th birthday, and he had expected to hear from his father that weekend wishing him a happy birthday. Instead, a day after his birthday, he received a call late at night from police telling him his father was dead.
Aaron Millstein said he was devastated upon learning his father was dead. He questioned MHPD Officer Sam Seamans, who informed Aaron of his dad’s death, as to how it happened.
“At first I thought it was a heart attack,” Aaron told the jury. “At no point did we think it was anything but natural causes.”
That changed almost immediately when Parks and Aaron Millstein spoke over the phone shortly afterwards.
Aaron Millstein testified that Parks told him not to talk to police and not to allow police to put him in a “little room” and interview him, and that he would be coming to Mountain Home with the best criminal defense attorney in the state.
“I thought why would we not want to cooperate with the police, why would we not want to help try to find out what happened,” said Aaron Millstein. “It struck me as bizarre. It made me intensely suspicious at the time.”
Defense attorney Danny Glover cross-examined Aaron Millstein and asked him about a statement he gave to authorities after his father’s murder. He agreed he told investigators he didn’t know anyone who would want to hurt his father, and that his father always treated Parks like a son.
Glover asked him if he knew Parks was an alcoholic, a drug user and someone who told tall tales. Aaron Millstein replied that he knew Parks had a drug problem, that he drank, and that Parks once told him he was a Navy SEAL.
Still under questioning from Glover, Aaron Millstein told the jury that he knew Lois Jane Parks Millstein argued with his father about money, and that the Parks and Millstein families went through litigation regarding who should receive money from his father’s life insurance, although he wasn’t well informed about that court battle.
“I was more concerned about who killed my father than I was about the money,” Aaron Millstein told the jury.
The cell phone
An engineer for AT&T, Lanny Shepherd, was called to testify about a cell phone prosecutors say was used by Parks.
Shepherd told the jury the cell phone “went dark” at 10:30 p.m. Friday June 16, 2006, and was not in use again until 6 a.m. the next morning. That window of time is when prosecutors say Millstein was killed.
Shepherd told the jury that during the three days prior to that dark time, the cell phone was in constant use and never went silent for nearly as long a period of time.
Under cross-examination, Shepherd said the way the phone appeared on the company’s network was consistent with having a dead battery as well as being turned off by the user.
The houseboat
Another witness from Washington made an appearance in court Thursday. Marion Wright told the jury he worked at a business in Heber Springs that sold houseboats, and that Parks — whom prosecutors painted as jobless — came to the business some time between June 5 and June 12 of 2006 and inquired about a houseboat that was for sale.
Wright told the jury the houseboat’s price was $42,000 and that during conversations, he told Parks he would sell it to him for $35,000.
Several days later, Wright received a phone call from Parks.
“He told me he was in his attorney’s office, he said his dad had been stabbed to death, and that he was going to the medical examiner’s officer,” Wright recounted the conversation. “He said after that he would come by to talk about the houseboat.”
Wright told the jury Parks never mentioned how he was going to pay for the houseboat. When Wright later contacted Parks about the boat, a woman Wright described as elderly answered the phone and said Parks wasn’t buying a boat.
Under cross-examination, Perry asked Wright if people came to the business and just looked at boats without buying. Wright agreed that some people did that. Wright also said serious buyers asked more and specific questions than Parks ever did.
Testimony resumes today at the Baxter County Court Complex. If convicted, Parks faces life in prison without parole.
3/28/2013
Parks trial update: Testimony entered about Parks cell phone
http://www.baxterbulletin.com/article/20130328/NEWS01/130328002/Parks-trial-update-Testimony-entered-about-Parks-cell-phone
Written by: Bulletin Staff
During the fourth day of the Gary Wayne Parks murder trial today, AT&R engineer Lanny Shepherd testified a cell phone attributed to Parks went "dark" between 10:30 p.m. June 16 until 6 a.m. June 17. Dr. David Millstein, Parks' stepfather, was murdered sometime between the evening of June 16 and June 18, when his body was found by authorities. Parks is accused of his murder.
Prosecuting and defense attorneys argued whether the cell phone belongs to Parks. Billing suggests the phone was owned by Twin Lakes Urology Clinic, Dr. Millstein's business.
Also testifying this morning was Vesta Bush, a former Twin Lakes Urology Clinic office manager. Bush said Dr. Millstein's wife, Lois Jane Parks Millstein, funded the opening Dr. Millstein's urology clinic. Bush said when she left the clinic to move east to be with her husband in February 2006, Dr. Millstein was having trouble making the clinic payroll.
She also stated there were many arguments between Parks and Dr. Millstein throughout the six years she worked at the clinic. She said Parks was arrogant and rude, and she felt Dr. Millstein was intimidated by him. Bush testified Parks repeatedly called Dr. Millstein at his clinic to argue about money, and often the staff had to interrupt Dr. Millstein while he was with patients to take Parks' phone calls.
Written by: Bulletin Staff
During the fourth day of the Gary Wayne Parks murder trial today, AT&R engineer Lanny Shepherd testified a cell phone attributed to Parks went "dark" between 10:30 p.m. June 16 until 6 a.m. June 17. Dr. David Millstein, Parks' stepfather, was murdered sometime between the evening of June 16 and June 18, when his body was found by authorities. Parks is accused of his murder.
Prosecuting and defense attorneys argued whether the cell phone belongs to Parks. Billing suggests the phone was owned by Twin Lakes Urology Clinic, Dr. Millstein's business.
Also testifying this morning was Vesta Bush, a former Twin Lakes Urology Clinic office manager. Bush said Dr. Millstein's wife, Lois Jane Parks Millstein, funded the opening Dr. Millstein's urology clinic. Bush said when she left the clinic to move east to be with her husband in February 2006, Dr. Millstein was having trouble making the clinic payroll.
She also stated there were many arguments between Parks and Dr. Millstein throughout the six years she worked at the clinic. She said Parks was arrogant and rude, and she felt Dr. Millstein was intimidated by him. Bush testified Parks repeatedly called Dr. Millstein at his clinic to argue about money, and often the staff had to interrupt Dr. Millstein while he was with patients to take Parks' phone calls.
'Overkill,' says medical examiner: Millstein stabbed, cut 30 times
http://www.baxterbulletin.com/article/20130328/NEWS01/303280028/-Overkill-says-medical-examiner-Millstein-stabbed-cut-30-times
Millstein stabbed, cut 30 times
Written by: Josh Dooley
“This is what is referred to in my field as overkill,” testified Arkansas State Medical Examiner Dr. Charles Kokes during the Gary Parks murder trial Wednesday.
Kokes referred to the 30 stab and cut wounds suffered by Dr. David Millstein when he was murdered in June 2006. Parks, 42, is facing a capital murder charge for the killing of Millstein, his stepfather.
Kokes told the jury one of the four wounds to Millstein’s chest pierced his chest and coronary artery. Millstein was in bed when the attack began, and when he rolled off the bed and fell face-first on the floor, his attacker stabbed him several times in the back, Kokes said.
One of the last wounds Millstein likely suffered was having his throat cut, according to Kokes.
“This type of injury is usually done at or near the end of a sharp force assault,” said Kokes. “It’s generally done to ensure the lethality of the assault.”
Kokes told the jury the amount of blood Millstein lost as a result of the throat wound, and the amount of blood found on his bed, were indicators that helped him determine the chain of events during the assault. The instrument used to stab and cut Millstein was a single-edged, six-inch blade approximately one and a quarter inches wide, Kokes said.
The medical examiner also said he could not definitely say it was a knife that caused Millstein’s injuries.
Kokes told the jury scientific evidence gained during the autopsy allowed him to offer the opinion Millstein died some time between 3 p.m. Friday June 16 and 3 p.m. the next day. Work performed by investigators who spoke to witnesses can further narrow the time of death if the witness testimony is credible, Kokes said.
During cross-examination, defense attorney Joe Perry asked Kokes if an investigator had informed Kokes someone said they thought they saw Millstein alive on Saturday.
“He reported to me someone thought they saw him (Millstein) on Saturday,” Kokes responded. “I don’t know how credible that report was.”
“He gave me an eerie feeling,” Zyla said of Parks. “He kept going on about the lamb chops. He said he wanted them but he didn’t have the money to pay for them. Dr. Millstein told him to just get the lamb chops and not worry about it.”
Co-workers testified that the next day, when Millstein went to work, he seemed upset, frustrated and scared.
Karen McDonald, the office manager for Millstein’s medical clinic, told jurors when Millstein came to work the day before he was killed, he was not his normal, happy self.
“He was frustrated and excited,” McDonald said. “He had trouble doing routine tasks. Things didn’t seem to be going right.”
McDonald said she asked Millstein what was wrong.
“He said ‘Gary called me out last night,’ ” said McDonald, who became emotional as she spoke. “He said Gary tried to manhandle him.”
Parks appeared at Millstein’s clinic on Monday, the day after authorities found the doctor’s body at his 1707 Stephens Court home. McDonald told jurors that when Parks entered the clinic, he went to the back and attempted to log on to Millstein’s computer.
McDonald said she was frightened when she saw Parks that day and told a co-worker to call police. McDonald described Parks as abrupt, rude, and angry while at the clinic, and said she was afraid of him.
When asked if Parks appeared to be grieving, McDonald said he did not appear sad about Millstein’s death.
“It was always about money, and Gary trying get more money out of Dr. Millstein,” McDonald said.
Pam Nuzum served as Millstein’s nurse and also said Millstein’s mood on the day before he was murdered was not typical.
“You could tell something was obviously wrong with him,” Nuzum said of Millstein. “He didn’t really want to talk about it right away.”
Eventually, Nuzum said, Millstein told her what was troubling him.
“He was fearful of the defendant,” Nuzum said. “It wasn’t anything new, it was just worse this time.”
When they closed the clinic that Friday, Nuzum testified, Millstein spent an hour talking to her and other co-workers in the parking lot.
“He just told us how thankful he was for all we do,” said Nuzum. “It was strange. It was almost like he was saying goodbye.”
During cross-examination, defense counsel Danny Glover asked Rhonda Parks if she had spoken with Parks’ mother, Lois Jane Parks Millstein, since Millstein was murdered. Rhonda Parks said she had spoken with her former mother-in-law.
Glover then asked Rhonda Parks if Lois Jane Parks Millstein said she had killed Millstein. As Rhonda Parks nodded her head yes and began to verbalize her response, Prosecutor Attorney Ron Kincade shot to his feet and objected.
The attorneys gathered before Circuit Judge John Putman and argued whether Rhonda Parks should be allowed to answer the question.
After those arguments, Putman told the jury to disregard Rhonda Parks’ answer to Glover’s question and ordered her response stricken from the record.
During that interview, Hollingsworth said, Parks told him he confronted Millstein when they ate dinner at Dino’s. Parks contended he told Millstein that he — Millstein — was broke and that he needed to solve his money problems, and that things had to change.
Hollingsworth also testified when a search warrant was obtained to search the Maumelle condo where Parks lived and the Toyota FJ Cruiser Parks drove, State Police were short-handed so he asked a friend with the Federal Bureau of Investigation to help, and that the FBI sent their evidence recovery team to perform the searches.
Under cross examination by Glover, Hollingsworth told the jury the searches of the condo and the Toyota turned up no evidence that could be directly tied to the Millstein murder.
Testimony resumes today, and the trial is expected to continue into next week. If convicted, Parks faces up to life in prison without parole.
Millstein stabbed, cut 30 times
Written by: Josh Dooley
“This is what is referred to in my field as overkill,” testified Arkansas State Medical Examiner Dr. Charles Kokes during the Gary Parks murder trial Wednesday.
Kokes referred to the 30 stab and cut wounds suffered by Dr. David Millstein when he was murdered in June 2006. Parks, 42, is facing a capital murder charge for the killing of Millstein, his stepfather.
Kokes told the jury one of the four wounds to Millstein’s chest pierced his chest and coronary artery. Millstein was in bed when the attack began, and when he rolled off the bed and fell face-first on the floor, his attacker stabbed him several times in the back, Kokes said.
One of the last wounds Millstein likely suffered was having his throat cut, according to Kokes.
“This type of injury is usually done at or near the end of a sharp force assault,” said Kokes. “It’s generally done to ensure the lethality of the assault.”
Kokes told the jury the amount of blood Millstein lost as a result of the throat wound, and the amount of blood found on his bed, were indicators that helped him determine the chain of events during the assault. The instrument used to stab and cut Millstein was a single-edged, six-inch blade approximately one and a quarter inches wide, Kokes said.
The medical examiner also said he could not definitely say it was a knife that caused Millstein’s injuries.
Kokes told the jury scientific evidence gained during the autopsy allowed him to offer the opinion Millstein died some time between 3 p.m. Friday June 16 and 3 p.m. the next day. Work performed by investigators who spoke to witnesses can further narrow the time of death if the witness testimony is credible, Kokes said.
During cross-examination, defense attorney Joe Perry asked Kokes if an investigator had informed Kokes someone said they thought they saw Millstein alive on Saturday.
“He reported to me someone thought they saw him (Millstein) on Saturday,” Kokes responded. “I don’t know how credible that report was.”
Millstein upset
On the Thursday before his death, Millstein ate dinner with Parks, according to Lois Zyla, a waitress at the now-closed Dino’s Restaurant.“He gave me an eerie feeling,” Zyla said of Parks. “He kept going on about the lamb chops. He said he wanted them but he didn’t have the money to pay for them. Dr. Millstein told him to just get the lamb chops and not worry about it.”
Co-workers testified that the next day, when Millstein went to work, he seemed upset, frustrated and scared.
Karen McDonald, the office manager for Millstein’s medical clinic, told jurors when Millstein came to work the day before he was killed, he was not his normal, happy self.
“He was frustrated and excited,” McDonald said. “He had trouble doing routine tasks. Things didn’t seem to be going right.”
McDonald said she asked Millstein what was wrong.
“He said ‘Gary called me out last night,’ ” said McDonald, who became emotional as she spoke. “He said Gary tried to manhandle him.”
Parks appeared at Millstein’s clinic on Monday, the day after authorities found the doctor’s body at his 1707 Stephens Court home. McDonald told jurors that when Parks entered the clinic, he went to the back and attempted to log on to Millstein’s computer.
McDonald said she was frightened when she saw Parks that day and told a co-worker to call police. McDonald described Parks as abrupt, rude, and angry while at the clinic, and said she was afraid of him.
When asked if Parks appeared to be grieving, McDonald said he did not appear sad about Millstein’s death.
“It was always about money, and Gary trying get more money out of Dr. Millstein,” McDonald said.
Pam Nuzum served as Millstein’s nurse and also said Millstein’s mood on the day before he was murdered was not typical.
“You could tell something was obviously wrong with him,” Nuzum said of Millstein. “He didn’t really want to talk about it right away.”
Eventually, Nuzum said, Millstein told her what was troubling him.
“He was fearful of the defendant,” Nuzum said. “It wasn’t anything new, it was just worse this time.”
When they closed the clinic that Friday, Nuzum testified, Millstein spent an hour talking to her and other co-workers in the parking lot.
“He just told us how thankful he was for all we do,” said Nuzum. “It was strange. It was almost like he was saying goodbye.”
Ex-wife fearful
Rhonda Parks, Parks’ ex-wife, testified she, too, was afraid of him. She told jurors part of the reason the couple divorced was her concern about his drug abuse. She told the jury Parks used and sold cocaine.During cross-examination, defense counsel Danny Glover asked Rhonda Parks if she had spoken with Parks’ mother, Lois Jane Parks Millstein, since Millstein was murdered. Rhonda Parks said she had spoken with her former mother-in-law.
Glover then asked Rhonda Parks if Lois Jane Parks Millstein said she had killed Millstein. As Rhonda Parks nodded her head yes and began to verbalize her response, Prosecutor Attorney Ron Kincade shot to his feet and objected.
The attorneys gathered before Circuit Judge John Putman and argued whether Rhonda Parks should be allowed to answer the question.
After those arguments, Putman told the jury to disregard Rhonda Parks’ answer to Glover’s question and ordered her response stricken from the record.
Parks interviewed
Sgt. Mark Hollingsworth, an investigator with the Arkansas State Police, testified he interviewed Parks two days after Millstein’s body was discovered.During that interview, Hollingsworth said, Parks told him he confronted Millstein when they ate dinner at Dino’s. Parks contended he told Millstein that he — Millstein — was broke and that he needed to solve his money problems, and that things had to change.
Hollingsworth also testified when a search warrant was obtained to search the Maumelle condo where Parks lived and the Toyota FJ Cruiser Parks drove, State Police were short-handed so he asked a friend with the Federal Bureau of Investigation to help, and that the FBI sent their evidence recovery team to perform the searches.
Under cross examination by Glover, Hollingsworth told the jury the searches of the condo and the Toyota turned up no evidence that could be directly tied to the Millstein murder.
Testimony resumes today, and the trial is expected to continue into next week. If convicted, Parks faces up to life in prison without parole.
3/27/2013
Parks murder trial goes into third day
http://www.baxterbulletin.com/article/20130327/NEWS01/303270039/Parks-murder-trial-goes-into-third-day
During testimony Wednesday afternoon, Arkansas Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Charles Kokes demonstrates the area of the neck that was cut on Dr. David Millstein's body.
The murder trial of Gary Wayne Parks, 42, went into its third day Wednesday. Parks is accused of the June 2006 murder of his stepfather, Dr. David Millstein, 62, a Mountain Home urologist.
In the morning, Baxter County Circuit Judge John Putman ruled the jury could view a number of autopsy photos.
Two Hiram Shaddox Geriatrics Center employees also testified Wednesday morning that Millstein received a phone call from a family member that upset him on Friday night, June 16, 2006.
One employee testified that she believed Millstein was speaking to his wife, Lois Jane Parks Millstein, and they were discussing the defendent. Millstein’s body was discovered Sunday, June 18, 2006.
Arkansas State Medical Examiner Charles Kokes testified Wednesday afternoon that the autopsy on Dr. David Millstein revealed Millstein was stabbed or cut 30 times with a knife or knife-like blade.
The murder trial of Gary Wayne Parks, 42, went into its third day Wednesday. Parks is accused of the June 2006 murder of his stepfather, Dr. David Millstein, 62, a Mountain Home urologist.
In the morning, Baxter County Circuit Judge John Putman ruled the jury could view a number of autopsy photos.
Two Hiram Shaddox Geriatrics Center employees also testified Wednesday morning that Millstein received a phone call from a family member that upset him on Friday night, June 16, 2006.
One employee testified that she believed Millstein was speaking to his wife, Lois Jane Parks Millstein, and they were discussing the defendent. Millstein’s body was discovered Sunday, June 18, 2006.
Arkansas State Medical Examiner Charles Kokes testified Wednesday afternoon that the autopsy on Dr. David Millstein revealed Millstein was stabbed or cut 30 times with a knife or knife-like blade.
State medical examiner testifies at Parks trial
http://ktlo.com/wire/newswed/03159_PARKS_TRIAL-THIRD_DAY_173306.php
by Ray Dean Davis
State medical examiner Dr. Charles Kokes was among the prosecution's witnesses testifying during the third day of the Gary Parks capital murder trial in Baxter County Circuit Court. Kokes' testimony involved an autopsy done on the body of Dr. David Millstein of Mountain Home.
Parks is accused of murdering Dr. Millstein, his stepfather, in June of 2006 at the Millstein residence in Mountain Home.
Ray Dean Davis has more on the story.
Dr. Kokes presented in detail the results of the autopsy, which was done on June 20th, 2006, two days after the victims body was found on the bedroom floor of his residence.
According to the testimony, the victim had a total of 30 sharp-force injuries on various parts of his body, including a slice across his throat. Kokes said the instrument used to inflict the wounds was likely a knife or knife-like object that was about one-and-one-quarter inches wide and six inches long. One of the wounds penetrated to a depth of seven inches.
Kokes said at least one puncture to the chest area had penetrated the victim's heart, resulting in rapid blood loss and leaving him weak and unable to resist further attack.
He said the assault likely began as Dr. Milstein lay in bed. The victim then probably rolled onto the floor, where he sustained further injuries to his back and finally to his throat. Kokes said by the time the victim's neck had been pulled back with great force and his throat cut, there was very little bleeding, indicating that he was already deceased or very near it at that time.
There were also some blunt force injuries on the body.
The jury was allowed to view seven of more than 60 photos taken of the autopsy as Dr. Kokes described his findings.
The medical examiner estimated the time of death at between 1 and 6 a.m. on Saturday, June 17th, 2006.
Several witnesses testified that on days just prior to his murder Dr. Millstein had expressed some concern regarding his stepson, the defendant. Testimony further indicated that the two had often disagreed over money matters.
Parks' ex-wife, Rhonda Parks, a physician, testified that she had met Parks and his mother, Jane Parks, on June 17th in central Arkansas, where Parks was to return his daughter after a weekend visitation. The ex-wife asked about Dr. Millstein and Gary Parks replied that they didn't know where he was.
There has been some conflicting testimony regarding whether or not Dr. Millstein was on call at Baxter Regional Medical Center. Gary Parks says Millstein was supposed to be at a family get-together that weekend in Little Rock. Some of his co-workers testified that he was on call and would never have planned to go out of town.
Two of the workers at Millstein's medical practice described Parks coming into the office in the days following Millstein's death. They described him as appearing agitated, rather than grieving.
by Ray Dean Davis
State medical examiner Dr. Charles Kokes was among the prosecution's witnesses testifying during the third day of the Gary Parks capital murder trial in Baxter County Circuit Court. Kokes' testimony involved an autopsy done on the body of Dr. David Millstein of Mountain Home.
Parks is accused of murdering Dr. Millstein, his stepfather, in June of 2006 at the Millstein residence in Mountain Home.
Ray Dean Davis has more on the story.
Dr. Kokes presented in detail the results of the autopsy, which was done on June 20th, 2006, two days after the victims body was found on the bedroom floor of his residence.
According to the testimony, the victim had a total of 30 sharp-force injuries on various parts of his body, including a slice across his throat. Kokes said the instrument used to inflict the wounds was likely a knife or knife-like object that was about one-and-one-quarter inches wide and six inches long. One of the wounds penetrated to a depth of seven inches.
Kokes said at least one puncture to the chest area had penetrated the victim's heart, resulting in rapid blood loss and leaving him weak and unable to resist further attack.
He said the assault likely began as Dr. Milstein lay in bed. The victim then probably rolled onto the floor, where he sustained further injuries to his back and finally to his throat. Kokes said by the time the victim's neck had been pulled back with great force and his throat cut, there was very little bleeding, indicating that he was already deceased or very near it at that time.
There were also some blunt force injuries on the body.
The jury was allowed to view seven of more than 60 photos taken of the autopsy as Dr. Kokes described his findings.
The medical examiner estimated the time of death at between 1 and 6 a.m. on Saturday, June 17th, 2006.
Several witnesses testified that on days just prior to his murder Dr. Millstein had expressed some concern regarding his stepson, the defendant. Testimony further indicated that the two had often disagreed over money matters.
Parks' ex-wife, Rhonda Parks, a physician, testified that she had met Parks and his mother, Jane Parks, on June 17th in central Arkansas, where Parks was to return his daughter after a weekend visitation. The ex-wife asked about Dr. Millstein and Gary Parks replied that they didn't know where he was.
There has been some conflicting testimony regarding whether or not Dr. Millstein was on call at Baxter Regional Medical Center. Gary Parks says Millstein was supposed to be at a family get-together that weekend in Little Rock. Some of his co-workers testified that he was on call and would never have planned to go out of town.
Two of the workers at Millstein's medical practice described Parks coming into the office in the days following Millstein's death. They described him as appearing agitated, rather than grieving.
Jury views crime scene photos at murder trial
http://www.baxterbulletin.com/article/20130327/NEWS01/303270002/Jury-views-crime-scene-photos-murder-trial
Parks faces up to life in prison without parole
Written by: Josh Dooley
Prosecutors hammered home the brutal nature of the Dr. David Millstein slaying Tuesday during the first day of testimony in the capital murder trial of Gary Parks.
Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Kerry Chism introduced more than four dozen crime scene photographs, including a dozen of the slain Millstein, a 62-year-old Mountain Home urologist.
Parks, 42, is accused in the June 17, 2006, stabbing death of Millstein, his stepfather.
Sgt. Eddie Griffin, a criminal investigator with the Mountain Home Police Department, was on the stand when Chism asked him to identify several photographs of Millstein’s body after it was discovered on the night of June 18, 2006.
As Chism handed Griffin different photographs of Millstein’s body, Griffin told the jury about the wounds depicted in the photographs. Griffin said Millstein had nine stab or cutting wounds to his back and at least one wound to the back of his left leg, and that Millstein’s throat had been cut almost from ear-to-ear.
Millstein also had cuts to his right hand, wounds Griffin told the jury were defensive in nature, as Millstein attempted to fight off his attacker.
After Griffin identified each photograph, Chism handed the photographs to jurors, who could be seen studying the photographs.
Under cross-examination by defense attorney Joe Perry, Griffin told jurors a desktop computer had been removed from the home, and an accompanying modem and router were still plugged in. Griffin also testified he did not know if anything was missing from the home.
Perry also asked Griffin about a note investigators found on a table in Millstein’s home. The entire note was not legible, but one portion read “Anger at LJP,” according to Griffin. Perry then asked if those were the initials of Parks’ mother, Lois Jane Parks Millstein, Millstein’s wife.
Defense attorneys Perry and Danny Glover previously told the jury police had ignored Lois Jane Parks Millstein as a suspect and concentrated on her son.
Baker testified Gary Parks called the hospital late in the night on June 18, 2006, the day after authorities say Millstein was stabbed. During that conversation, Baker said Parks asked for someone to go check on his stepfather because he was supposed to have met Parks and his mother in Little Rock on the night of June 17.
“I just thought it was odd, he sounded very anxious,” Baker said. “It was odd that he was adamant that there was a meeting between him, his stepdad and his mother when Dr. Millstein was on call. Dr. Millstein would never plan to go out of town when he was on call.”
Baker testified Millstein was on call during the weekend in question, and that doctors on call, by hospital policy, had to remain in the local area to respond if they were needed. Millstein’s biological son, Richard Millstein, also called Baker trying to find his father.
After Parks called, Baker said she contacted MHPD and asked that they go to Millstein’s 1707 Stephens Court home and check on his welfare.
Police dispatcher Dennis Cantrell then testified, saying he took Baker’s call. Cantrell said he called former MHPD officer Wade Robson, who went to Millstein’s home. Cantrell said Robson discovered Millstein’s body, touching off the investigation.
Cantrell told the jury that records indicate Baker called to ask for an officer to check on Millstein. Some 37 minutes later, Cantrell said Parks called police, asking they check on his stepfather.
Chism played a recording of the conversation between Cantrell and Parks.
“My name is Gary Parks, and I’m trying to ... my stepfather has disappeared,” Parks can be heard to say. “He was supposed to have been here yesterday, and he usually calls by 10 o’clock, and we haven’t seen or heard from him since Friday night.”
By that point, according to testimony, Millstein’s body had already been discovered by Robson, who testified next.
Robson testified he was dispatched to Millstein’s home, went there, knocked on the door, and rang the doorbell. Robson said there was a light on in the house. When Robson tried the front door, he told the jury he found it unlocked.
Robson announced himself as he entered the home. He searched the home, and discovered Millstein’s body in the master bedroom, face down in a pool of blood with a burnt area on the floor nearby.
Robson said when his supervisor Sgt. Kevin Litty arrived, they discovered the gas line feeding the fireplace was turned off, and that there appeared to be ash in the fireplace like someone attempted to burn something.
Under questioning, Robson told the jury it was a hot June night. Litty then testified, essentially corroborating Robson’s account of how they checked to make certain Millstein was dead, there were no other victims in the house, and that no suspect was still in the home.
Next to arrive at the scene was former MHPD criminal investigator Robert Hardin, who told the jury when he arrived at the scene, he sketched the home and took more than 230 photographs in and around the home, including several items marked as evidence.
Some items investigators took into evidence included a Home Depot receipt, a note, an oral hygiene product found on Millstein’s bed, a cigarette butt, and numerous bedding items.
During cross-examination, Glover asked Hardin if he would expect the person who killed Millstein to have blood on their clothes and person.
“I don’t know for certain,” Hardin replied. “But I assume so.”
Hardin said he could not be certain if a robbery had or had not occurred at Millstein’s home as the home was extremely cluttered, and Hardin was uncertain what was in the home prior to Millstein’s murder.
The last three witnesses to appear in court Tuesday were employees of the Arkansas State Crime Lab.
Their testimony revealed all the blood collected from Millstein’s home was Millstein’s, that the DNA on a cigarette butt found in the driveway of the home was, to a scientific certainty, that of Parks. In addition, according to expert testimony, blood found on a shoe that was recovered in a vehicle driven by Parks, was not human blood.
Two items and three fingerprint cards collected from the scene and turned into the crime lab did not have enough information for experts to match the prints to an individual, according to a crime lab expert.
The trial is expected to last into early next week.
If found guilty, Parks faces up to life in prison without parole.
Parks faces up to life in prison without parole
Written by: Josh Dooley
Prosecutors hammered home the brutal nature of the Dr. David Millstein slaying Tuesday during the first day of testimony in the capital murder trial of Gary Parks.
Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Kerry Chism introduced more than four dozen crime scene photographs, including a dozen of the slain Millstein, a 62-year-old Mountain Home urologist.
Parks, 42, is accused in the June 17, 2006, stabbing death of Millstein, his stepfather.
Sgt. Eddie Griffin, a criminal investigator with the Mountain Home Police Department, was on the stand when Chism asked him to identify several photographs of Millstein’s body after it was discovered on the night of June 18, 2006.
As Chism handed Griffin different photographs of Millstein’s body, Griffin told the jury about the wounds depicted in the photographs. Griffin said Millstein had nine stab or cutting wounds to his back and at least one wound to the back of his left leg, and that Millstein’s throat had been cut almost from ear-to-ear.
Millstein also had cuts to his right hand, wounds Griffin told the jury were defensive in nature, as Millstein attempted to fight off his attacker.
After Griffin identified each photograph, Chism handed the photographs to jurors, who could be seen studying the photographs.
Under cross-examination by defense attorney Joe Perry, Griffin told jurors a desktop computer had been removed from the home, and an accompanying modem and router were still plugged in. Griffin also testified he did not know if anything was missing from the home.
Perry also asked Griffin about a note investigators found on a table in Millstein’s home. The entire note was not legible, but one portion read “Anger at LJP,” according to Griffin. Perry then asked if those were the initials of Parks’ mother, Lois Jane Parks Millstein, Millstein’s wife.
Defense attorneys Perry and Danny Glover previously told the jury police had ignored Lois Jane Parks Millstein as a suspect and concentrated on her son.
Other witnesses
The first witness to appear before the jury and Baxter County Circuit Court Judge John Putman Tuesday morning was Tina Baker, who was serving as a dispatcher for Baxter Regional Medical Center at the time Millstein was murdered.Baker testified Gary Parks called the hospital late in the night on June 18, 2006, the day after authorities say Millstein was stabbed. During that conversation, Baker said Parks asked for someone to go check on his stepfather because he was supposed to have met Parks and his mother in Little Rock on the night of June 17.
“I just thought it was odd, he sounded very anxious,” Baker said. “It was odd that he was adamant that there was a meeting between him, his stepdad and his mother when Dr. Millstein was on call. Dr. Millstein would never plan to go out of town when he was on call.”
Baker testified Millstein was on call during the weekend in question, and that doctors on call, by hospital policy, had to remain in the local area to respond if they were needed. Millstein’s biological son, Richard Millstein, also called Baker trying to find his father.
After Parks called, Baker said she contacted MHPD and asked that they go to Millstein’s 1707 Stephens Court home and check on his welfare.
Police dispatcher Dennis Cantrell then testified, saying he took Baker’s call. Cantrell said he called former MHPD officer Wade Robson, who went to Millstein’s home. Cantrell said Robson discovered Millstein’s body, touching off the investigation.
Cantrell told the jury that records indicate Baker called to ask for an officer to check on Millstein. Some 37 minutes later, Cantrell said Parks called police, asking they check on his stepfather.
Chism played a recording of the conversation between Cantrell and Parks.
“My name is Gary Parks, and I’m trying to ... my stepfather has disappeared,” Parks can be heard to say. “He was supposed to have been here yesterday, and he usually calls by 10 o’clock, and we haven’t seen or heard from him since Friday night.”
By that point, according to testimony, Millstein’s body had already been discovered by Robson, who testified next.
Robson testified he was dispatched to Millstein’s home, went there, knocked on the door, and rang the doorbell. Robson said there was a light on in the house. When Robson tried the front door, he told the jury he found it unlocked.
Robson announced himself as he entered the home. He searched the home, and discovered Millstein’s body in the master bedroom, face down in a pool of blood with a burnt area on the floor nearby.
Robson said when his supervisor Sgt. Kevin Litty arrived, they discovered the gas line feeding the fireplace was turned off, and that there appeared to be ash in the fireplace like someone attempted to burn something.
Under questioning, Robson told the jury it was a hot June night. Litty then testified, essentially corroborating Robson’s account of how they checked to make certain Millstein was dead, there were no other victims in the house, and that no suspect was still in the home.
Next to arrive at the scene was former MHPD criminal investigator Robert Hardin, who told the jury when he arrived at the scene, he sketched the home and took more than 230 photographs in and around the home, including several items marked as evidence.
Some items investigators took into evidence included a Home Depot receipt, a note, an oral hygiene product found on Millstein’s bed, a cigarette butt, and numerous bedding items.
During cross-examination, Glover asked Hardin if he would expect the person who killed Millstein to have blood on their clothes and person.
“I don’t know for certain,” Hardin replied. “But I assume so.”
Hardin said he could not be certain if a robbery had or had not occurred at Millstein’s home as the home was extremely cluttered, and Hardin was uncertain what was in the home prior to Millstein’s murder.
The last three witnesses to appear in court Tuesday were employees of the Arkansas State Crime Lab.
Their testimony revealed all the blood collected from Millstein’s home was Millstein’s, that the DNA on a cigarette butt found in the driveway of the home was, to a scientific certainty, that of Parks. In addition, according to expert testimony, blood found on a shoe that was recovered in a vehicle driven by Parks, was not human blood.
Two items and three fingerprint cards collected from the scene and turned into the crime lab did not have enough information for experts to match the prints to an individual, according to a crime lab expert.
The trial is expected to last into early next week.
If found guilty, Parks faces up to life in prison without parole.
Testimony starts in Parks trial; day three begins today
http://ktlo.com/wire/newswed/03041_PARKS_TRIAL-SECOND_DAY_051927.php
KTLO News
by: Ray Dean Davis
Testimony began yesterday in Baxter County Circuit Court in the felony capital murder trial of Gary Wayne Parks. Parks is accused of killing his stepfather, Dr. David Millstein of Mountain Home in June of 2006.
The prosecution began laying groundwork for its case by calling several witnesses involved in the initial discovery of Millstein's body and investigators who processed the murder scene.
Ray Dean Davis has the story.
The first two witnesses were dispatchers, Tina Baker, formerly with Baxter Regional Medical Center and Dennis Cantrell with the Mountain Home Police Department. Baker related how concern grew for Dr. Millstein when he didn't return phone calls from the hospital although he was on call on that weekend in June, 2006.
She also said Gary Parks called her during that time asking for a check on his stepfather. She said he didn't sound concerned, but more as if he wanted someone to go to the home. Baker, whose last name then was Finley, called Cantrell at the police station and he dispatched Officer Wade Robson to Millstein's house.
Robson responded to find Millstein's body inside what was termed a very cluttered and disorganized house. He said the bloody victim was lying face-down in the floor with the remnants of some burned material lodged between his torso and arm.
Robson called his supervisor, Officer Kevin Litty, who came to the scene, then called investigators Robert Hardin and Eddie Griffin. During testimony Griffin described what he found at the scene. Among other things, he said Millstein had been stabbed several times with a sharp instrument and his throat had been cut. He said the doctor had one defensive wound on his right hand, as if he'd tried to
ward off his assailant.
Several photos of the crime scene and victim were shown to the six-man, six woman jury after Judge John Putman ruled that they could be admitted as evidence.
In answer to questions, Investigator Griffin said the scene didn't appear to have stemmed from a robbery, although he said he hadn't seen the house before that time and couldn't say for certain that nothing was missing. He also described the house as cluttered and full of items.
Other witnesses included representatives of the state crime lab who testified that blood found on several items in the home came from Dr. Millstein.
In its opening statement the defense team had mentioned semen being found on a carpet at the murder scene, which they contended could have indicated that a female had been with the doctor at the time of his death. However, both a forensic serologist and a forensic DNA examiner with the state crime lab said it was impossible to tell how long the semen had been there.
Also, the DNA examiner said that blood on a shoe found in Gary Parks' car had no DNA profile, indicating that it likely came from an animal. It was pointed out that a cigarette butt found outside the Millstein home contained a DNA profile that matched it to Gary Parks in 10 out of 16 possible areas.
Parks attended the court session, dressed in street clothes and showing little emotion as testimony was given. He is represented in the case by attorneys Joe Perry and Danny Glover, along with Stacey Worthington-Chism, a mitigation specialist with the Arkansas Public Defenders Commission.
The prosecution is being handled by Prosecutor Ron Kincade and Deputy Prosecutor Kerry Chism.
The trial is expected to last for more than a week.
KTLO News
by: Ray Dean Davis
Testimony began yesterday in Baxter County Circuit Court in the felony capital murder trial of Gary Wayne Parks. Parks is accused of killing his stepfather, Dr. David Millstein of Mountain Home in June of 2006.
The prosecution began laying groundwork for its case by calling several witnesses involved in the initial discovery of Millstein's body and investigators who processed the murder scene.
Ray Dean Davis has the story.
The first two witnesses were dispatchers, Tina Baker, formerly with Baxter Regional Medical Center and Dennis Cantrell with the Mountain Home Police Department. Baker related how concern grew for Dr. Millstein when he didn't return phone calls from the hospital although he was on call on that weekend in June, 2006.
She also said Gary Parks called her during that time asking for a check on his stepfather. She said he didn't sound concerned, but more as if he wanted someone to go to the home. Baker, whose last name then was Finley, called Cantrell at the police station and he dispatched Officer Wade Robson to Millstein's house.
Robson responded to find Millstein's body inside what was termed a very cluttered and disorganized house. He said the bloody victim was lying face-down in the floor with the remnants of some burned material lodged between his torso and arm.
Robson called his supervisor, Officer Kevin Litty, who came to the scene, then called investigators Robert Hardin and Eddie Griffin. During testimony Griffin described what he found at the scene. Among other things, he said Millstein had been stabbed several times with a sharp instrument and his throat had been cut. He said the doctor had one defensive wound on his right hand, as if he'd tried to
ward off his assailant.
Several photos of the crime scene and victim were shown to the six-man, six woman jury after Judge John Putman ruled that they could be admitted as evidence.
In answer to questions, Investigator Griffin said the scene didn't appear to have stemmed from a robbery, although he said he hadn't seen the house before that time and couldn't say for certain that nothing was missing. He also described the house as cluttered and full of items.
Other witnesses included representatives of the state crime lab who testified that blood found on several items in the home came from Dr. Millstein.
In its opening statement the defense team had mentioned semen being found on a carpet at the murder scene, which they contended could have indicated that a female had been with the doctor at the time of his death. However, both a forensic serologist and a forensic DNA examiner with the state crime lab said it was impossible to tell how long the semen had been there.
Also, the DNA examiner said that blood on a shoe found in Gary Parks' car had no DNA profile, indicating that it likely came from an animal. It was pointed out that a cigarette butt found outside the Millstein home contained a DNA profile that matched it to Gary Parks in 10 out of 16 possible areas.
Parks attended the court session, dressed in street clothes and showing little emotion as testimony was given. He is represented in the case by attorneys Joe Perry and Danny Glover, along with Stacey Worthington-Chism, a mitigation specialist with the Arkansas Public Defenders Commission.
The prosecution is being handled by Prosecutor Ron Kincade and Deputy Prosecutor Kerry Chism.
The trial is expected to last for more than a week.
3/26/2013
Victim killed for money, prosecutor says
http://www.baxterbulletin.com/article/20130325/NEWS01/303250034/Millstein-murder-trial-begins
In his opening statement Monday, Baxter County Prosecuting Attorney Ron Kincade told a circuit court jury the reason Gary Wayne Parks killed his stepfather Dr. David Millstein was a $500,000 life insurance policy.
Parks, 42, is on trial for the June 17, 2006, stabbing death of his stepfather. He faces up to life imprinsonment without parole.
“Someone entered the residence while Dr. Millstein was sleeping and stabbed him to death. It was a violent and brutal murder,” Kincade told the jury, comprised of six men and six women. “There was an attempt to burn the body and set the house on fire.”
Kincade said the story began in 1996 when Millstein, 62, married Lois Jane Parks, the mother of the defendant. The couple moved to Mountain Home in 1998, and kept a condo in Maumelle.
Gary Parks was always always dependent financially on his mother, according to Kincade. Kincade said Millstein’s marriage became strained, and the majority of the strain was financial.
“The victim was plagued by money problems almost throughout the entire time of the marriage with Lois Jane Parks,” Kincade said to the jury. “You’ll learn that Gary Parks was, and always was, the voice for Lois Jane Parks, with Dr. Millstein over money.”
In June 2006, the money problems reached a boiling point, according to Kincade, who said Lois Jane Parks told her husband she needed $40,000 in dental work, and Millstein declined to pay for the work.
Kincade said Gary Parks was angry with Millstein because Parks felt Millstein was financially draining his mother.
Kincade said Parks and his mother, who shared a condo in Maumelle, came to Millstein’s Mountain Home residence three days prior to Millstein’s murder.
According to Kincade, Parks told investigators he had dinner with his stepfather on the Thursday before the murder.
During that dinner, Parks allegedly told Millstein that Millstein was in debt and things needed to change. Additionally, Parks reportedly told investigators Millstein borrowed $25,000 from Parks’ mother, and that Parks’ mother had paid Millstein’s clinic’s payroll for eight weeks previous to the murder.
As the investigation progressed, investigators learned Millstein’s wife had a trust with a life insurance policy on Millstein worth in excess of $500,000, Kincade told the jury.
Kincade went on to say Millstein told two witnesses during the week leading up to his murder that Parks had assaulted him, that he was scared of Parks, and that he was depressed.
A nurse who worked with Millstein who is expected to testify, will tell jurors, according to Kincade, that Millstein was so frightened of Parks that he spoke to her about purchasing a gun she owned.
On the Friday before the murder, Parks and his mother left Mountain Home and drove back to the Maumelle condo. At 9:40 p.m. that same night, Millstein left Hiram Shaddox, a nursing home on the Baxter Regional Medical Center campus.
The last time anyone had contact with Millstein was at 1 a.m. on the morning of June 17, 2006. A doctor at BRMC called Millstein to consult about a patient, Kincade told jurors.
Hospital personnel attempted and failed to contact Millstein beginning at 6 a.m. on June 17. Many people attempted to call Millstein over the course of the weekend, according to Kincade.
Parks told investigators two different stories about where he was on the night his stepfather was murdered, Kincade told jurors. In one version, Parks told an investigator he was at a party until 1 a.m. on June 17.
In the second version of the story, Parks told a different investigator he arrived home that night at 9 p.m. and never left the condo until the next day, Kincade told the jury.
Investigators discovered Parks went to a party in the Maumelle area. At 10:30 on Friday night, Parks turned off his cell phone and did not turn it back on again until 6 a.m. Saturday morning.
The time period Parks’ cell phone was turned off includes the time period — between 1 a.m. and 6 a.m. Saturday morning — the state medical examiner says Millstein was killed.
Two witnesses, one with a criminal past and the other a Baxter County jailer, will testify Parks told them he killed his stepfather.
“They had some suspects, but they couldn’t tie any of them to the murder,” Glover told the jury. “They had Thea Millstein, Dr. Millstein’s first wife as a suspect.”
Thea Millstein threatened to kill Millstein, to stab him and his new wife, according to Glover, who said Dr. Millstein took out a restraining order against his former wife.
Thea Millstein was committed to a state hospital at least once because she was considered homicidal or suicidal, Glover told the jury.
Glover then told the jury Lois Jane Millstein, whom Kincade referred to as Lois Jane Parks, was also a potential suspect in Millstein’s murder.
“Jane, of all the people in the world, Jane had two husbands murdered,” Glover told the jury. “Not one, two. Her first husband Gerry Parks was shot down in 1992 on the streets of Little Rock, a crime that’s never been solved.”
According to Glover, in the months before Millstein’s death, Lois Jane Parks (Millstein) told her doctor she planned to divorce Millstein. She also told other individuals she was looking for another man, Glover told the jury.
“Witnesses overheard Jane say she wanted Millstein out of her life. Witnesses overheard Jane say she was to make a lot of money if Millstein died,” Glover said. “She received a substantial amount of money after he died.”
In 2011, Lois Jane Parks (Millstein) told Dr. Rhonda Parks that she killed Millstein, according to Glover. Dr. Rhonda Parks is the ex-wife of defendant Gary Parks.
“That’s a pretty good suspect,” Glover told the jury. “But for some strange reason, the police focused on Gary Parks. The police have already got their minds made up. They focused strictly on Gary Parks.”
Glover went on to tell the jury that despite calling in FBI experts, no blood evidence was found in Parks’ condo, his car, or on his person. No murder weapon was found. In addition, Glover told the jury Millstein suffered defensive wounds and no wounds were found on Parks.
Parks’ vehicle was not cleaned, according to Glover, who told the jury the vehicle was trashed and no attempt was made to clean it.
“This was a brutal murder, it was very bloody,” Glover said. “You’ll see blood transfers from the crime scene throughout the house. So whoever committed this crime would have blood on their body or on their hands. You find no blood on Gary Parks. you find no blood on Gary Parks’ clothes, no blood on any vehicle driven by Gary parks, and no blood in Gary Parks’ and Dr. Millstein’s condo.”
Parks was at the party on Friday night, Glover told the jury. He drank heavily at the party.
“He’s drunk. You’re going to see somewhere around midnight or so his cell phone pings off towers in the Little Rock area,” Glover said. “Again, you’ll hear testimony it pinged off a tower somewhere in the North Little Rock area around 6 a.m.”
“They want you to believe to believe Gary Parks left Maumelle sometime after midnight, in a drunken state, drives all the way to Mountain Home, does this crime, and gets back to Little Rock by 6 a.m. in that drunken state,” Glover told the jury.
“Gary Parks did not commit this crime,” Glover said in closing. “We ask at the end of this trial you find Mr. Parks not guilty.”
The trial is slated to continue at 9 a.m. today.
Dr. David I. Millstein
Parks, 42, is on trial for the June 17, 2006, stabbing death of his stepfather. He faces up to life imprinsonment without parole.
“Someone entered the residence while Dr. Millstein was sleeping and stabbed him to death. It was a violent and brutal murder,” Kincade told the jury, comprised of six men and six women. “There was an attempt to burn the body and set the house on fire.”
Kincade said the story began in 1996 when Millstein, 62, married Lois Jane Parks, the mother of the defendant. The couple moved to Mountain Home in 1998, and kept a condo in Maumelle.
Gary Parks was always always dependent financially on his mother, according to Kincade. Kincade said Millstein’s marriage became strained, and the majority of the strain was financial.
“The victim was plagued by money problems almost throughout the entire time of the marriage with Lois Jane Parks,” Kincade said to the jury. “You’ll learn that Gary Parks was, and always was, the voice for Lois Jane Parks, with Dr. Millstein over money.”
In June 2006, the money problems reached a boiling point, according to Kincade, who said Lois Jane Parks told her husband she needed $40,000 in dental work, and Millstein declined to pay for the work.
Kincade said Gary Parks was angry with Millstein because Parks felt Millstein was financially draining his mother.
Kincade said Parks and his mother, who shared a condo in Maumelle, came to Millstein’s Mountain Home residence three days prior to Millstein’s murder.
According to Kincade, Parks told investigators he had dinner with his stepfather on the Thursday before the murder.
During that dinner, Parks allegedly told Millstein that Millstein was in debt and things needed to change. Additionally, Parks reportedly told investigators Millstein borrowed $25,000 from Parks’ mother, and that Parks’ mother had paid Millstein’s clinic’s payroll for eight weeks previous to the murder.
As the investigation progressed, investigators learned Millstein’s wife had a trust with a life insurance policy on Millstein worth in excess of $500,000, Kincade told the jury.
Kincade went on to say Millstein told two witnesses during the week leading up to his murder that Parks had assaulted him, that he was scared of Parks, and that he was depressed.
A nurse who worked with Millstein who is expected to testify, will tell jurors, according to Kincade, that Millstein was so frightened of Parks that he spoke to her about purchasing a gun she owned.
On the Friday before the murder, Parks and his mother left Mountain Home and drove back to the Maumelle condo. At 9:40 p.m. that same night, Millstein left Hiram Shaddox, a nursing home on the Baxter Regional Medical Center campus.
The last time anyone had contact with Millstein was at 1 a.m. on the morning of June 17, 2006. A doctor at BRMC called Millstein to consult about a patient, Kincade told jurors.
Hospital personnel attempted and failed to contact Millstein beginning at 6 a.m. on June 17. Many people attempted to call Millstein over the course of the weekend, according to Kincade.
Parks told investigators two different stories about where he was on the night his stepfather was murdered, Kincade told jurors. In one version, Parks told an investigator he was at a party until 1 a.m. on June 17.
In the second version of the story, Parks told a different investigator he arrived home that night at 9 p.m. and never left the condo until the next day, Kincade told the jury.
Investigators discovered Parks went to a party in the Maumelle area. At 10:30 on Friday night, Parks turned off his cell phone and did not turn it back on again until 6 a.m. Saturday morning.
The time period Parks’ cell phone was turned off includes the time period — between 1 a.m. and 6 a.m. Saturday morning — the state medical examiner says Millstein was killed.
Two witnesses, one with a criminal past and the other a Baxter County jailer, will testify Parks told them he killed his stepfather.
The defense
Defense attorney Danny Glover told jurors police were desperate to solve the case and manufactured evidence against Parks while excluding evidence that pointed to other suspects, including Millstein’s ex-wife, and current wife at the time of his death, Lois Jane Parks, Gary Parks’ mother.“They had some suspects, but they couldn’t tie any of them to the murder,” Glover told the jury. “They had Thea Millstein, Dr. Millstein’s first wife as a suspect.”
Thea Millstein threatened to kill Millstein, to stab him and his new wife, according to Glover, who said Dr. Millstein took out a restraining order against his former wife.
Thea Millstein was committed to a state hospital at least once because she was considered homicidal or suicidal, Glover told the jury.
Glover then told the jury Lois Jane Millstein, whom Kincade referred to as Lois Jane Parks, was also a potential suspect in Millstein’s murder.
“Jane, of all the people in the world, Jane had two husbands murdered,” Glover told the jury. “Not one, two. Her first husband Gerry Parks was shot down in 1992 on the streets of Little Rock, a crime that’s never been solved.”
According to Glover, in the months before Millstein’s death, Lois Jane Parks (Millstein) told her doctor she planned to divorce Millstein. She also told other individuals she was looking for another man, Glover told the jury.
“Witnesses overheard Jane say she wanted Millstein out of her life. Witnesses overheard Jane say she was to make a lot of money if Millstein died,” Glover said. “She received a substantial amount of money after he died.”
In 2011, Lois Jane Parks (Millstein) told Dr. Rhonda Parks that she killed Millstein, according to Glover. Dr. Rhonda Parks is the ex-wife of defendant Gary Parks.
“That’s a pretty good suspect,” Glover told the jury. “But for some strange reason, the police focused on Gary Parks. The police have already got their minds made up. They focused strictly on Gary Parks.”
Glover went on to tell the jury that despite calling in FBI experts, no blood evidence was found in Parks’ condo, his car, or on his person. No murder weapon was found. In addition, Glover told the jury Millstein suffered defensive wounds and no wounds were found on Parks.
Parks’ vehicle was not cleaned, according to Glover, who told the jury the vehicle was trashed and no attempt was made to clean it.
“This was a brutal murder, it was very bloody,” Glover said. “You’ll see blood transfers from the crime scene throughout the house. So whoever committed this crime would have blood on their body or on their hands. You find no blood on Gary Parks. you find no blood on Gary Parks’ clothes, no blood on any vehicle driven by Gary parks, and no blood in Gary Parks’ and Dr. Millstein’s condo.”
Parks was at the party on Friday night, Glover told the jury. He drank heavily at the party.
“He’s drunk. You’re going to see somewhere around midnight or so his cell phone pings off towers in the Little Rock area,” Glover said. “Again, you’ll hear testimony it pinged off a tower somewhere in the North Little Rock area around 6 a.m.”
“They want you to believe to believe Gary Parks left Maumelle sometime after midnight, in a drunken state, drives all the way to Mountain Home, does this crime, and gets back to Little Rock by 6 a.m. in that drunken state,” Glover told the jury.
“Gary Parks did not commit this crime,” Glover said in closing. “We ask at the end of this trial you find Mr. Parks not guilty.”
The trial is slated to continue at 9 a.m. today.
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