CATAWBA COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA: Tangela Louise Parker, 52, formally entered a in charge plea on Thursday, September 28, for one depend of second-degree murder in the deadly shooting of Phelifia Michelle Marlow, 51, in 2021 in North Carolina.
The woman has confessed to the homicide of her former colleague, which used to be motivated through a trivial office dispute. She then avoided capture for six months, in line with government.
In reaction to the plea, Haywood County Superior Court Judge Bradley B Letts imposed a sentence of 20 to twenty-five years in a state correctional facility.
Chief prosecutor addresses Parker's ruthless act
The Catawba County District Attorney's Office issued a press unencumber, in which Chief Assistant District Attorney Tim Gould addressed the calculated and ruthless nature of Parker's crime.
“The method (Parker) used (the revolver) gave this sufferer no chance,” Gould told the court. “It’s not just a murder, it’s an execution. You see the harm she has brought about this circle of relatives, this neighborhood,” in line with Law&Crime.
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Following the imposition of the sentence, Judge Letts addressed a substantial crew of the victim's friends and family who had accumulated on the courthouse, searching for justice years after the tragic shooting claimed the lifetime of the mother of 2.
“Michelle [Marlow] did not anything mistaken. It’s with a heavy center I tell you that dangerous issues, unspeakable issues, happen to excellent other people. I wish that weren't the case. Nothing that happened was once deserved by Michelle [Marlow],” he stated.
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“There’s nothing I will be able to say nowadays to assuage you of your loss. I will not fill the holes in your hearts. Seeing you here nowadays shall we me know one thing: She knew handiest love and make stronger from you for 51 years. Many people don’t have that. She did, and that’s on account of you,” he added.
Victim's husband recounts office dispute
Michelle's husband Justin Marlow knowledgeable investigators that his wife had engaged in a minor dispute with Parker the week earlier than the homicide.
The argument reportedly arose from a war of words over rearranging tables in their workspace at TCS Designs, a furniture company. As a consequence, Tangela Parker used to be suspended from paintings for three days with out pay.
Witnesses who have been present sooner than the shooting recounted that Parker had become extremely agitated and used offensive language when addressing Marlow.
Several staff took notice of Parker's conduct and reported the incident to the plant manager.
They alleged that Parker had initiated the confrontation, whilst Marlow had answered to her outbursts in a restrained means, as described via prosecutors.
“The fatal shooting took place all the way through the workday in entrance of a large number of eyewitnesses at TCS Design in Hickory, where each ladies have been employed,” prosecutors wrote in the discharge. “The defendant went to the realm the place the victim was once running and shot her in the chest with a .357 Magnum revolver. Marlow became and tried to run, however Parker shot her in the back of the top.”
Upon receiving the decision, officers from the Hickory Police Department and Catawba County Emergency Medical Services promptly arrived at the location.
There, they found out Marlow lying on the ground in a pool of blood. She later died in a health facility.
It needs to be noted that Eric Parker, the partner of Tangela Parker, used to be also an employee at TCS and used to be present at the plant when the incident unfolded.
(*20*) to the fatal shooting, the Parkers fled the state and remained absconding for six months.
In an try to evade legislation enforcement, they assumed false identities, adopting the names Jason and Elizabeth Reardon and using a stolen license plate.
However, in July 2021, they were apprehended in Arizona on fugitive warrants.
Daughter's heartfelt tribute to Michelle
During Thursday's plea hearing, the murder weapon, which was once discovered in the car the Parkers used while on the run, was once offered as proof in court docket.
Furthermore, the impact of Marlow's homicide was conveyed thru ten sufferer affect statements.
Among the ones who shared their experiences used to be Marlow's daughter, Makayla Marlow.
“There’s now not enough time in the world for me to specific who she used to be,” Makayla stated of her mom.
“January 13, 2021, was the day I misplaced my highest buddy, my rock, my qualified enhance system," she added. "She used to be the human form of goodness and peace. Her life used to be violently ripped from her. While I’m grateful for each and every second I were given along with her, I’m angry she used to be taken away. The time I spent together with her was nowhere long sufficient.”
Eric Parker is lately in custody and has been charged with one depend of being an accessory to homicide after the crime has been dedicated. He has entered a plea of now not in charge and is these days watching for trial.
Warning: This article incorporates a recollection of crime and can be triggering to a couple, readers’ discretion urged.More from MEAWW
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