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The tragic case of Beverly Parker’s murder is marked by a brutal attack where she was stabbed 25 times, only for the assailant to pause and retrieve a larger knife to continue the assault.
This chilling 1997 homicide is brought back into the spotlight in a brand-new episode of Cold Justice, scheduled to air on Saturday, October 18, at 8/7c on Oxygen. The episode follows prosecutor Kelly Siegler, homicide investigator Tonya Rider, and Fort Wayne Police detectives Brian Martin and Mark Bieker as they work diligently to unravel the mysteries of Parker’s unresolved death.
The episode, aptly titled “A Mother’s Nightmare,” promises to delve deep into the harrowing details of the case. “Kelly and Tonya delve into the savage murder of a dedicated mother who was fatally stabbed and bludgeoned,” the episode description teases, hinting at the discovery of a clandestine affair and a twist as startling as the crime itself.
In their quest to shed light on this cold case, the investigative team meticulously reconstructed the crime scene, offering fresh insights into Parker’s last moments in her Fort Wayne, Indiana residence, as revealed in a preview of the episode.
Evidence suggests that Parker was initially attacked in her kitchen. From there, it’s believed she either attempted to escape to the hallway or was forcibly moved there, where the attack was ultimately concluded.
Investigators believe Parker was attacked in her kitchen, then was either dragged into the hallway or fled there herself, before the final blows were delivered.
“I don’t know how that began, if it was planned, if it was spontaneous, but I think Beverly turned her back,” Martin told the team in the teaser. “And I think that’s where we get that quick series of battery of those short cuts.”
Parker’s attacker used a small knife to stab her 25 times in what Bieker described as something “like a prison shanking almost.”
He explained, “It’s just those quick jabs.”
The detectives theorized that the attack likely began in the kitchen when someone grabbed Parker from behind, holding an arm across her throat, as the killer delivered the stab wounds.
Bieker noted that the theory would “explain too the damage to her throat.”
But at some point, the attack moved into a nearby hallway. Blood stains on the floor suggested that an injured Parker was either dragged or tried to scoot away from her killer herself when she was overcome again.
“The wounds on Beverly’s back were made by a small knife. They were shallow and not fatal,” Rider told producers in another preview. “Her next stab wounds appear to be from a larger blade, suggesting her killer discarded the first knife and returned to the kitchen for a bigger one.”
Approximately three more blows were delivered with the larger knife, but as Siegler noted, those “weren’t fatal” either.
Bieker confirmed that the stab wounds “missed everything” that could have directly caused her death.
Tragically, as the vicious attack continued, Parker lost her life.
To find out more about the case and the surprising suspects at the center of the investigation, watch Cold Justice Saturday, Oct. 18, at 8/7c on Oxygen.
