Background: The home in Spanish Fork, Utah, where Timothy and Jeannie Parker were found dead in March 2023 (Google Maps). Inset (top): Tryston Erickson (Grand County Sheriff”s Office). Inset (bottom): Timothy and Jeannie Parker (Walker Funeral Home).
A Utah man, charged with the murder of his mother and stepfather, is progressing towards trial nearly three years after the tragic incident.
Tryston Erickson, 30, is facing multiple charges related to the deaths of his mother, Jeannie Parker, 50, and his stepfather, Timothy Parker, 58. The couple was discovered deceased in their Spanish Fork, Utah residence on March 14, 2023. As detailed in charging documents reported by KSL, an NBC affiliate, authorities conducted a welfare check on the pair after they failed to appear at their workplace for several days.
Upon entering the home, officers discovered the bodies of both Jeannie and Timothy Parker, partially draped with blankets in a basement bedroom. Each had succumbed to gunshot wounds.
Inside the residence, law enforcement officials unearthed approximately two dozen firearms, spent bullet casings, and evidence of gunfire on the walls. Bloodstains were also found on the staircase leading to the basement. According to police reports, there appeared to be attempts to clean the crime scene, including removing blood and laundering clothing stained with blood.
Documents acquired by KTVX, an ABC affiliate, reveal that Erickson, who resided with the Parkers, was unaccounted for, along with Jeannie Parker’s Hyundai Elantra, which Erickson was prohibited from using. Her phone was traced to a location in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. Erickson was eventually located by authorities in Grand County, Colorado, and apprehended following a high-speed pursuit while driving his mother’s vehicle.
While he was being interviewed, Erickson allegedly told police that he last saw the Parkers on March 13, 2023, when he had dinner with them. He later admitted to stealing the car and the phone, police said.
Police asked Erickson why he fled to Colorado. He allegedly responded, “I knew I was going to jail anyway, and I thought I would have a little fun.”
Police found firearms and bank cards that belonged to other members of Erickson’s family. He was arrested and extradited back to Utah.
When police searched Erickson’s phone, they found photos of the Parkers’ bodies that were taken on March 12, 2023. Police spoke to the Parkers’ neighbors, who said they saw Erickson standing outside the house the same day, smoking a cigarette.
Timothy Parker’s co-workers told police that he was reportedly trying to evict Erickson from the house shortly before his death.
Erickson was charged with two counts of aggravated murder, obstruction of justice, theft, abuse or desecration of a human body, three weapons charges, and unlawful possession or use of a financial card.
According to reporting by KTVX, Erickson’s trial was delayed in early 2024 following a motion to determine his competency to stand trial. After several hearings, Erickson was deemed competent in December 2025. Following hearings on March 17 and May 1, a judge ruled that there was enough evidence to move forward with Erickson’s double murder trial.
Erickson remains in custody and will be arraigned on June 10.