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.
3/30/2013
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.
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