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00:001998 Jacksonville Beach Florida a group of university students plan a friendsgiving when
00:12they cannot travel home for Thanksgiving holiday she was involved in getting everybody together
00:18and inviting people she had spent the day before Thanksgiving cooking several different pies not
00:26even seasoned veteran police are prepared for the vicious nature of the crime that unfolded it
00:35looked just like somebody had placed her hand in a pool of blood with that manic stab wounds you
00:42sometimes wonder is this the portal of hell it shocked the mind initially police look at several
00:50suspects in a desperate attempt to make their beach town safe by Christmas he was evacuated
00:58with her almost obsessed she knew things about this crime scene that none of us knew it didn't
01:05add up as police closed in on a Thanksgiving killer the fear only escalates the person who did this
01:14could do it again
01:16hello I'm anti grace
01:33Hello, I'm Nancy Grace.
01:46Thanksgiving is wonderful.
01:49It's a holiday that usually brings families together.
01:53People travel across the country, across the world.
01:57Parents, children, and relatives celebrate with wonderful food,
02:02great company, and happy times that become happy memories.
02:08But sometimes, lengthy travel gets in the way of children returning home.
02:15In 1998, 25-year-old Corey Parker decides to stay put in Jacksonville Beach, Florida,
02:22where she's going to school instead of being with her family upstate New York.
02:27She's scheduled to work on Black Friday at the Ragtime Restaurant,
02:31but she never shows up for her shift.
02:40When she failed to show up, her manager became alarmed.
02:44This was not her character.
02:46She's somebody that could be relied upon and was very trusted to show up.
02:51For her to miss a shift was highly unlikely.
02:55Corey was a good worker.
02:57She would come for a shift.
02:59She wouldn't miss any shifts.
03:00Corey's manager asked one of the cooks at the restaurant to go and check on her.
03:05The cook went to her apartment and knocked on the door but could not get an answer.
03:13Through the front window, the cook can see Corey Parker's kitchen.
03:17The thing that caught him as a little bit odd was her purse was sitting there.
03:25And he could tell there was a pie out on the counter.
03:28It just didn't sit right with him.
03:31The cook walks around to the back of Corey's apartment.
03:34And he could see her foot, and he knew it was her because she had this toe ring that she always wore.
03:50And he said there was just blood everywhere.
03:52First responders arrive at Corey Parker's apartment.
04:00Inside her bedroom, a shocking, disturbing and tragic scene.
04:06The police discovered Corey's nude body lying on the bed.
04:16And the blood was covering her in such a dramatic way that it looked like it had almost been painted on her.
04:23Homicide detectives and a forensic unit start processing the horrific crime scene.
04:35Corey was stabbed multiple times.
04:38And with every second, she was getting stabbed.
04:42And she was fighting for her life.
04:45The forensic investigators arrived at the scene.
04:49They discovered there was hairs in her hand.
04:51When you find those things, it just makes it seem worse because you know that there's a struggle.
05:01She did fight to her sale, and her hair was in her clutch.
05:05It was a bad, brutal way to leave this world.
05:09There was blood found at the scene by the kitchen window, which faces, like, the back of her apartment.
05:14They discovered blood stains, which looked just like somebody had placed her hand in a pool of blood and then placed it on the window,
05:26which is indicative of somebody trying to get out of the window.
05:29They also took samples of a lot of different blood spatterings at the scene.
05:36And one of the droplets that they collected was on the sink.
05:40When you're stabbing somebody multiple times, there's a high probability that that person's going to become injured as well.
05:47They're still trying to stab somebody, and their hand's sliding off of the handle onto the blade, and they're cutting themselves.
05:53Then the suspect's blood ends up near the sink and by the window.
05:58It's a damning piece of evidence, especially if you can tie a suspect to it.
06:02When there is a savage knife attack like this one, not only are victims wounded and killed, but very often so are perpetrators.
06:20They are wounded as they wield the knife.
06:25Detectives are hoping here that blood and hair samples will lead them to a DNA match
06:31of the animal who murdered Corey Parker.
06:36Meanwhile, police are canvassing the neighborhood where Corey lived.
06:42The crime happened where Corey Parker lived in Jacksonville Beach was a little small apartment building close to the beach.
06:50It was within walking distance.
06:52She lived alone. She was in a ground floor apartment.
06:55And there was other, like, buildings next to it, so kind of close together within eyesight of each other.
07:00The detectives learned that there had been a peeping tom in the community.
07:07It was very disturbing.
07:10Corey had even told some of her friends that she felt like there was a peeping tom watching her.
07:17Being on the ground level, this is exactly what she should be afraid of.
07:22The detectives had to consider that this peeping tom could very well be the assailant that killed Corey.
07:30I was sitting in my mom's.
07:40I got a call from David, her boyfriend.
07:44And he was hysterical.
07:47He could barely talk.
07:49He was just bawling.
07:50I could hear him saying, something's wrong with Corey.
07:53You need to find out what's going on.
07:55So I happened to know a paramedic that lived nearby, so I called him, and I asked him if he could tell me what's going on.
08:06And he said, she was dead.
08:09It was so shocking.
08:15I didn't register it at all.
08:19I didn't believe them.
08:21I remember thinking, she's fine.
08:24I just talked to her the day before Thanksgiving.
08:27A police officer called me, and I went straight to the police station.
08:38I met with Detective Radigan, and she brought me into a room, asked me questions, mostly about the last time I had seen Corey.
08:48Did I know what she planned on doing for Thanksgiving?
08:51I told Detective Radigan that she had planned on attending the orphan party for Thanksgiving, which is where people get together that don't have family in the area.
09:03She was baking pies and bringing them with her.
09:06She very much enjoyed to cook, and she was really good at it.
09:10She was a fabulous baker.
09:11When I met Corey, she had moved from Rochester, New York, to Jacksonville Beach to go to college, and we clicked instantly.
09:24Corey was extremely intelligent.
09:26She was fun.
09:27She was very kind and respectful to everybody.
09:31She was 5'11", so obviously just being tall, she stood out, but she was also beautiful like a model.
09:39She was somebody that would really draw your attention when she walked in the room.
09:45Absolutely gorgeous, and had a personality to match.
09:49She was beautiful, physically and inside.
09:52She definitely lit up a room when she walked in.
10:01Corey Parker seemed so happy with her life.
10:04She recently started dating someone new.
10:06Although she and David didn't know each other for very long, they were very passionate very quickly about each other, and they had so much fun together.
10:15I remember her describing him to me.
10:18I found this guy who was just amazing, and she said, he's extra special.
10:25Really digging this guy.
10:27The police really want to talk to Corey's boyfriend, David.
10:31When the police talk with David, he is genuinely distraught by Corey's murder.
10:37Furthermore, he's able to provide them evidence that he was not even in the area at the time Corey died.
10:45He had flown to see family for the Thanksgiving holiday.
10:48When autopsy results come back, investigators learn that, thankfully, Corey Parker was at least spared a sex assault.
11:01Still, the way that Corey is killed, the savage stabbing, much of it after she dies, are chilling.
11:11Corey was stabbed 101 times.
11:17Autopsy revealed that 54 of those times were post-mortem.
11:21That lends towards the whole viciousness of the crime.
11:25This person had a lot of rage in them that they're willing to stab somebody that much.
11:29This person took their time.
11:31It was gruesome.
11:33It shocked the mind.
11:36Detectives convinced they're looking for a deeply depraved killer.
11:40Black Friday is one of the busiest retail days in the U.S.
11:52That means restaurants are super busy also.
11:56Student Corey Parker misses Thanksgiving with her family to work a shift at Ragtime Restaurant.
12:03And now, that family will never have a chance for another Thanksgiving or Christmas with Corey.
12:11The Jacksonville police conduct an extensive investigation throughout the holidays.
12:17They learn the last time Corey's seen alive is the day before Thanksgiving.
12:22That is when she borrows a pie thermometer and complains about a peeping Tom.
12:29As the new year rolls around, investigators finally get a lead.
12:35It's about a co-worker who's fixated on Corey.
12:39Police turn their attention to him.
12:41There was a dishwasher that worked at the same restaurant as Corey.
12:48He was 27 years old.
12:52Eric was his name.
12:56He was infatuated with her.
12:58One would say almost obsessed.
13:01In the months before she died, Eric had been asking Corey out on a regular basis.
13:07She continued to tell him no.
13:10She was really nice about it.
13:12She didn't want to hurt his feelings.
13:16Co-worker Eric is informally interviewed by detectives January 18.
13:22And he willingly agrees to give a hair sample for a possible DNA match.
13:27One week later, Jacksonville PD invite him to the station for a formal interview.
13:33Jesus, Eric, she told you.
13:37She had a boyfriend.
13:38She had plans.
13:39She had school.
13:40She didn't want to be with you, Eric.
13:42You weren't her type.
13:44She didn't want a relationship with you, Eric.
13:46And she couldn't accept that.
13:49Detectives badger Eric looking for any reaction.
13:53Kept asking her out, thanksgiving dinner.
13:56She didn't want to be with you, Eric.
13:57She had plans.
13:58But she didn't want to accept that.
14:01Did you?
14:01No, you didn't.
14:04No, but I was going away to kill her.
14:05You were pissed off at her.
14:07You were pissed off because you wanted her and she did not want you.
14:12You wanted a life with Corey, Eric.
14:15You wanted a life with Corey.
14:18She did not want you.
14:20You were the one that was pissed off with her, Eric.
14:23You.
14:24Coworker Eric concedes he desperately wanted to spend Thanksgiving with Corey.
14:31Eric's obsession with Corey is really demonstrated by his actions on Thanksgiving.
14:37He told the detectives he made a meal for her and was planning to invite her.
14:41He had invited her.
14:43She never committed.
14:45But he still made the Thanksgiving dinner.
14:49That, uh, seems weird.
14:53She went to all that work and she didn't even show up.
14:56The interview gets even more intense as the hours tick by.
15:02She was about to pissed off at me, too.
15:03That's probably why she didn't.
15:04You know why she was pissed at you, Eric?
15:06Because you couldn't take no for an answer.
15:08That's why.
15:09You could not take no for an answer.
15:14How many times does a woman have to tell you no?
15:16Eric finally reveals how he really feels about Corey Parker.
15:22Do you think that you were obsessed with her?
15:25Yeah, I was slightly obsessed, but I wouldn't do it.
15:26You were greatly obsessed, Eric.
15:28Jesus.
15:29Good.
15:30My God.
15:31I was.
15:32I was obsessed.
15:33Tell me the things that you think about doing.
15:35We're winning.
15:36Even detectives are shocked by Eric's next response.
15:40You mean, like, um, take him into her bedroom and rape him?
15:44Yeah.
15:44I'm kind of thrilling.
15:46Maybe I would share the same thoughts with this person that did it.
15:51I would have liked to have fantasized myself doing it instead of him doing it.
15:54But I didn't do it.
15:56One of the detectives asked him,
16:00well, if you would have killed Corey, how would you have done it?
16:06What fantasies do you have?
16:08How would you contain her?
16:09How would this person kill me?
16:12Take her down when she was tired.
16:13Well, yeah, mine.
16:15She was wheeled in mine.
16:16If he didn't want to be a suspect, he was doing a real good job selling himself as one.
16:23Then he just poked her.
16:24He'll do whatever.
16:25Stab her.
16:26Get her through.
16:27I'd wait for her.
16:28How was she going to have her?
16:29You're going to let me know of her?
16:31Okay, there's one.
16:32Now we're going to follow her.
16:34No.
16:34Kill her.
16:36Break her.
16:38Whatever happened.
16:39Detectives walk away from that interview convinced they've got Corey's killer.
16:52And they wait for the lab results obtained from blood and hair collected at the murder scene.
16:58The hair sample and the blood droplet sample that they found came from the same person.
17:06And that person was not Corey Parker.
17:10Many times in a homicide investigation, clues turn out to be too good to be true.
17:15In the case of Corey Parker's murder, police now have the killer's DNA.
17:21Too good to be true, right?
17:22Well, what they don't have is the problem.
17:24The DNA sample from the crime scene does not match their prime suspect, Corey Parker's co-worker, Eric.
17:32He would have been a perfect suspect, but they tested negative.
17:40Investigators now turn to one of the last people to see Corey Parker alive, a friend named Tiffany.
17:47Tiffany and Corey was at a bar the night before Thanksgiving together.
17:56Corey went out to the Ritz just to go have drinks and meet some friends from work, and Tiffany was there.
18:04They did meet up that night at the bar.
18:07Detectives focus on the friend, Tiffany.
18:10They've heard rumors she also was obsessed with Corey Parker.
18:14I remember a discussion with her about being bi-curious, meaning interested in girls and guys, which I mentioned to the police officers.
18:25So I think that kind of built a little thing for them to start looking at her.
18:32Detectives zero in on Tiffany, and they discover something alarming.
18:37Tiffany seems to have knowledge of the crime scene that was not public.
18:49So it's very concerning that possibly she knew this, because perhaps she was the one who killed Corey.
18:58Police bring in Tiffany for an interview.
19:01She tells them she and Corey Parker go to the Ritz bar the night before Thanksgiving, and that Corey leaves the bar around 1 a.m.
19:14Then, Tiffany says, she calls Corey in the early morning hours of Thanksgiving, 2 a.m.
19:21If Tiffany had told the police officers that she called Corey around 2 in the morning, Corey didn't answer the phone.
19:31However, when the police looked back at the phone records, there was no call made at 2 o'clock.
19:37So I don't think her story was adding up.
19:39As the interview goes on, Tiffany refuses to cooperate and give a DNA sample to detectives.
19:50They become even more suspicious.
19:53Is it possible that Tiffany had a crush on Corey and was upset with her?
20:00Because Corey had no interest in Tiffany in a romantic way.
20:04A court order was obtained to get her DNA.
20:10When the results come back,
20:13unfortunately, it does not match the hair and blood found at the scene.
20:20Investigators also learned Tiffany's inside knowledge of the crime scene comes from one of the first responders.
20:27Once again, detectives are back to square one.
20:31In a case as gruesome as Corey Parker's death.
20:38If you want to solve this case, you want to bring justice to your victim.
20:44You have to be her voice.
20:47And it's difficult.
20:49For now, the DNA collected at the crime scene eliminates all the viable suspects.
20:58The case haunts the Jacksonville police over the following year.
21:03Who killed Corey Parker?
21:16Jacksonville Beach, Florida.
21:18Another Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's pass by.
21:22For most people, life goes on.
21:26But for those people who knew Corey Parker, her love of life continues to be remembered.
21:34Jacksonville police have run out of leads in Corey's case, but they haven't run out of hope.
21:41When the case goes cold, the evidence starts drying up.
21:51It affects the investigators.
21:56In a resort town like Jacksonville Beach, people come and go quite frequently.
22:02So, your suspect could be gone, and slows the case up dramatically.
22:10It raised a whole set of new questions.
22:13Then, who on earth could have possibly or would have done this?
22:16For what reason?
22:16With the lack of further clues to investigate, Corey's family put up the funds for law enforcement
22:29to offer a $20,000 reward for any evidence that could help solve this case.
22:42When the reward was posted, it did generate several tips.
22:46One of the tips led them to a steakhouse that was near where Corey Parker lived.
22:53The tip was about a 17-year-old employee at that steakhouse.
22:58His name?
22:59Robert Denny.
23:01When Jacksonville police do some digging, they discover some very strange things about the teenager.
23:09Shortly after Corey Parker's death, he was acting very bizarre at work.
23:13He was crying, he was sulking.
23:17He claimed that his son had died in Texas and he needed to get back to that location.
23:23But he didn't have the money.
23:27So, employees of that steakhouse donated money to get a flight back.
23:33But when he left, he never came back.
23:42Robert Denny doesn't have a son.
23:45He only wants to get out of Jacksonville Beach.
23:49And guess where he's living during holiday season 1998?
23:53He lived in a second-story building next to Corey Parker.
24:06From his vantage point in his apartment, he could look into her windows of her apartment.
24:12Robert had confided in several co-workers that he used to look from his window down into Corey Parker's window.
24:27The fact that he left so sudden and never returned indicated to me that he had something he was hiding.
24:44He was running from something.
24:45The detectives speak to Robert Denny's sister, whom he was living with at the time of the murder.
24:54She describes Robert as being a very strange person.
25:00She says that at one point in time, she woke up to find him above her beds, just staring at her as she slept.
25:08This was so upsetting to her that she asked him to move out.
25:12Detectives learn Robert Denny has moved to Easton, Maryland.
25:19They contact local police there for help.
25:23I reviewed our CAD system, which is our system that we control all of our reports and complaints in.
25:28The review turns up a hit for a domestic disturbance.
25:35We had actually had an incident with him a couple weeks prior.
25:39He had moved in with a 50-year-old woman.
25:47He had befriended this woman online in a poker chat room.
25:54And the domestic argument ensued between her, her husband, and him.
26:01Detective Miller uses that domestic incident as a pretext for paying a visit to the residence.
26:09So I went and knocked on the door, and the woman that he was living with, she answered the door.
26:19I asked her if Robert was there.
26:22When I did, he came around the corner and introduced himself.
26:26They invited me in the house.
26:31We sat and we talked.
26:33Gave them the basic, hey, is everything good now?
26:36And has anyone been fighting since that day?
26:41And any injuries?
26:44The woman tells Detective Miller there's been no violence since her husband moved out.
26:49She says her two children are still living in the residence.
26:58And I left and came back and contacted Jacksonville Beach and said,
27:04OK, we got him.
27:05He's here.
27:06When are you coming to get him?
27:08Jacksonville police do not have enough PC, probable cause, for an arrest warrant.
27:15They joined forces with Easton, Maryland police to investigate Robert Denny.
27:22And what they discover about his family history is extremely alarming.
27:29Robert Denny's older brother was actually serving a life sentence
27:34for a murder that was eerily similar to that of Corey Parker.
27:41Robert's brother had been just 15 years old when he committed his crime.
27:49He was a paper boy on a paper route.
27:52She opened up the door, turned to give him a payment, and he attacked her.
28:00And that murder involved stabbing the victim 96 times.
28:05Jacksonville Beach, Florida, 1998, while Corey Parker's happily baking pies for Thanksgiving,
28:21someone with a murder on his mind is watching the beautiful 25-year-old.
28:27Fast forward two years later, police believe a man named Robert Denny is involved.
28:34Detectives must match DNA found at the scene to Denny.
28:40To do that, they need a DNA sample from Denny to compare to DNA from the murder scene.
28:52The two detectives from down in Jacksonville Beach that were assigned the cold case
28:57was Sergeant Billy Carlisle and Detective Katie Kingston.
29:01Katie, Billy, myself, Jim, you know, we get in a room and we're just talking about,
29:06you know, what can we do to try to get the DNA from Robert Denny.
29:11We came up with this ruse of a serious assault in his neighborhood,
29:15so we needed to exclude him as a suspect.
29:19It was false.
29:20It was a fake crime.
29:21The whole purpose was to get him into the office,
29:25to talk to him and see if I could collect his DNA.
29:27So I reached out to Robert and told him,
29:36hey, look, I'm investigating an assault that took place around 3 a.m.
29:40and that the suspect kind of matched his description.
29:47And I was wondering if he could come in and talk to me.
29:52Robert Denny voluntarily comes to the Easton Police Station for an interview.
29:58He sat down and I asked him a series of questions.
30:01And the whole time with Robert, I was playing the bumbling idiot.
30:06You know, where's my pen?
30:07Oh, it's here.
30:08So he felt very at ease with me,
30:12to the point where I'm pretty sure he felt he was controlling this whole thing.
30:18I started asking him questions about this alleged crime.
30:23He said, I didn't have anything to do with it.
30:25I was home. I was in bed. I wasn't out.
30:27They asked him for a sample of his DNA
30:31under the guise that it has to do with this assault case.
30:34As soon as I said DNA,
30:38he went from a position like this, where he was very open and he was jovial,
30:44to he crossed his legs, he folded his arms,
30:46and he literally pushed away from me.
30:51So he said, I'd rather not do that.
30:54Detectives cannot get Robert Denny to volunteer to give a DNA sample.
31:00Their next step, to get that sample without Denny ever knowing.
31:05I had bottles of water brought in.
31:10He was given a bottle.
31:11I had a bottle.
31:13They offered him some water.
31:14And then he opened a water bottle, but he never took a drink.
31:19Detectives got more creative for their second attempt at obtaining Denny's DNA.
31:24So I looked at Robert, I said, look.
31:27I said, I really need a cigarette.
31:29Do you smoke?
31:30He says, yeah.
31:31And I lit a cigarette, and he lit a cigarette.
31:34I smoked my cigarette, and I put it out in the ashtray.
31:39He smoked his cigarette, put it out, put the cigarette butt behind his ear.
31:44Police try yet again.
31:46So I typed out a little letter, and the letter said that at this particular point,
31:55I refused to give a DNA sample.
31:58However, I reserved my right to give one after talking to my lawyer.
32:03So I typed it out.
32:04He signed it.
32:06He folded it up.
32:07I asked him to put it in an envelope and seal the envelope.
32:10And he stopped, and he looked at me.
32:11He says, that's the third thing you want my lips to be on.
32:14The water bottle.
32:18The cigarette.
32:20And now this.
32:22You want it sealed, you seal it.
32:25He asked if he was free to go.
32:27The officer said yes, and then he left.
32:30Police are now back to square one.
32:33Robert Denny is outright defiant in all their efforts to get his DNA.
32:38When you're involved with something like that, you know,
32:40the old saying is, trust your instincts and your gut.
32:43And that's important.
32:43I mean, because you'll feel something when it's not right.
32:47We have an agency from another state come to us needing our help to catch a killer from their jurisdiction
32:54who killed a young woman in a brutal fashion.
32:57And it's pressure to not let anyone down, not let the family down of the victim, first of all, and the voiceless victim being Ms. Parker.
33:07Now, Easton Police must try more covert attempts to get Robert Denny's DNA.
33:16We were detailed to do surveillance.
33:18We were looking for those opportunities that he would become careless.
33:25When we were doing surveillance at the residence where he was staying,
33:28we were looking to see if he would put his trash out to the curb like every other person in America would normally do on trash day.
33:35But he wasn't doing that.
33:37He would load him up in this little pickup truck and he would take it to the dump.
33:40He was a very nervous and paranoid individual.
33:43To take a stakeout at the computer store where Robert Denny works,
33:48they now believe it's their only chance to get a DNA sample from Denny.
33:53We split up to two surveillance teams, and we were in a van that was blacked out.
34:02Me and my partner at the time, we were out of a cart using binoculars and a video camera,
34:07keeping an eye on front and back of the business, you know, moving around not to be seen continuously.
34:14You feel the pressure any time you're doing anything undercover.
34:16There's that inherent risk, and it becomes nerve-wracking.
34:19We were about 200 yards away from the rear entrance of where he worked at.
34:28Every 15, 20 minutes, we saw Robert coming out of the building.
34:32And when he came out of the building, he would start smoking.
34:36He would always look around.
34:37He was real nervous.
34:39And he would smoke a cigarette, and he put it out, put it in his pocket.
34:49He did that all day.
34:51All day.
34:52It became obvious that he was protecting from leaving any evidence.
35:01At that point, we were like, man, this is crazy.
35:04He's keen, he's savvy, he knows what DNA's all about.
35:10We were like, you know, there's probably no way that we're getting this guy's DNA.
35:14Although Robert was so careful not to leave his DNA, when the investigators are following him and keeping an eye on him, he has this habit of repeatedly spitting.
35:28On the third day, he smoked a cigarette, did a cigarette routine.
35:36But as soon as he got done smoking, he did the one thing that none of us expected.
35:42And to this day, I'm not even sure if he realized he did it.
35:47He spit on the ground seven times.
35:52This is the moment Easton police have been waiting for.
35:56They may never get another chance.
36:00And one of the surveillance teams was able to see where he spit, so that after Robert Danny left that area, they were able to go right to that area, and without any doubt, see it's still on the pavement, and was able to collect it.
36:14It was his spit, it was no one else's spit.
36:16There's no chance of cross-contamination.
36:20That was an unbelievable point in the investigation.
36:24A huge break for us was a huge win, you know, for us to be able to, you know, obtain that sample.
36:30And, uh, they sent it off to the lab, and we're waiting.
36:37I'm waiting. I'm waiting.
36:40Finally, the DNA results come back.
36:43That saliva matched with the DNA that was recovered at the crime scene in Jacksonville.
36:49And that was the touchdown everybody wanted.
36:54The whole team was very excited.
36:57KD called me and said, we got a positive hit.
37:00When you come.
37:02Wow, it's not that simple.
37:05Wait a minute, it's not that simple.
37:07We got a DNA hit on this guy.
37:10He's your killer.
37:11Jacksonville Beach, Florida.
37:21Two years after her murder, justice for Corey Parker seems within reach.
37:27The beautiful young woman stabbed 101 times in her own apartment.
37:34But now, police have a DNA match from the murder scene to a man named Robert Denny.
37:41Police believe the match guarantees an indictment.
37:45But, of course, there's a hitch.
37:48The state prosecutor decided that she didn't want to charge him yet because he could explain that DNA away.
37:56The detectives need to establish that Robert Denny was not in Corey's apartment at any point prior to her murder.
38:04You know, because he could say, hey, you know, Corey and I were friends and I went over and we watched TV together or something.
38:12So we needed that denial that he was ever in the apartment.
38:17The detective, they have to get him to say that he was never in that apartment.
38:22Jacksonville detectives returned to Maryland to work on a plan with Easton Police.
38:29Detective Katie Kingston will wear a wire and talk to Robert Denny.
38:36They believed that Robert Denny felt very overconfident with women.
38:41And so Katie decided to go up there and play Clueless.
38:47She walks up to the house, knocks on the door, he answers.
38:50You know, she goes through the whole introduction of, hey, I'm Katie Kingston.
38:52I'm a detective from Jacksonville.
38:54I'm working on this homicide that happened down there.
38:56And, you know, it goes into, you know, I've been sent up here to do a follow-up on the case, you know, and I wanted to reach out.
39:04Did you ever live in Jacksonville?
39:06You know, that kind of thing.
39:08I'm sitting about a block away listening on the wire.
39:12She put up such a good act.
39:14You know how you have a script, and in this script, you'll have direction.
39:21Well, in her case, her script said, do you know Corey Parker?
39:26Show him picture.
39:28And she literally said, do you know Corey Parker?
39:32Show him picture.
39:33Do you know Corey Parker or ever talk to her?
39:36Show picture.
39:38That's Corey Parker.
39:39Yeah.
39:39So, she asked him several questions.
39:45Did he know Corey Parker?
39:47No.
39:48I've seen her, but I don't know her.
39:51Do you ever go to her apartment?
39:53You never went to her apartment?
39:54No.
39:55And she walked off, and I'm just rolling, because now we got him.
40:00So, she came back.
40:02We high-fived.
40:02We went back.
40:03She called the state's attorney.
40:05I started typing out a search warrant to actually go into the house and snatch him.
40:12You're listening to that wire, and you hear that denial.
40:13That's, you know, that's huge.
40:16You know you're on track once that DNA matches.
40:18DNA is your DNA.
40:20It's no one else's.
40:21The state's attorney was happy with what she got, issued the arrest warrant, so we walked
40:33up, knocked on the door, he opened the door, search warrant, you're under arrest.
40:37And as I'm reading this to him, you could start seeing the light bulb going off in his head.
40:45He thinks that he pulled the wool over her eyes, and that was his downfall.
40:52That's what we got him, his DNA.
40:57It was great.
41:00It was great.
41:01I have enough physical evidence to charge you with another of Corey Parker, and I am going
41:14to charge you with the murder of Corey Parker.
41:18What happened to that is bullshit.
41:21I didn't do this.
41:22I didn't murder anybody.
41:25You can't have any evidence.
41:27He started right away saying, you got the wrong person.
41:36I just want you to tell me the truth, okay?
41:38I don't want you to follow up.
41:41I don't tell you the truth.
41:43You can not have evidence with anything against me.
41:47It's all that we need to know if I didn't know.
41:51And I look in the eyes, and I don't tell you.
41:54I don't tell you the truth, okay?
42:03Robert Denny goes to trial, 2005.
42:09In court, the prosecution describes in detail the gruesome murder scene.
42:16I found out what happened to her, and...
42:19sorry seeing you know what he did to her he stabbed cory 101 times and the way he
42:36kind of posed her a certain way i almost feel that was because he wanted her boyfriend to
42:44find her like that or something you know just gross and evil nasty um we often you know say rest in
42:57peace but there's no doubt in my mind she did not leave in peace this wasn't a peaceful way to depart
43:04this world i've seen some evil people do some terrible things and this is this is a prime
43:14example that's an evil person miss corey i didn't kill corey parker how did your forcibly removed
43:23hair get on her bloody rolled up underwear next to her body i don't know the trial was week long
43:30when defense rested jury went into liberation and 20 minutes later came out with a full guilty
43:36verdict we the jury find a defendant guilty of murder in the first degree as charged in the
43:42indictment we the jury further find that the killing was done with premeditation
43:46robert denny was convicted of first degree murder sentenced to life of new patrol it's a big win
43:52it's huge and it's a good sense of accomplishment when you're when you're able to do that
43:57it was a huge relief for many reasons he's off the street now can never hurt somebody because i think
44:06he would have he's that kind of evil doesn't just go away
44:10robert denny is just a 17 year old miner when he murders corey parker and therefore he avoids
44:23the death penalty
44:25the thanksgiving season although it's a time to spend with your family and loved ones this can add a lot of
44:34stress to a person somebody that is mentally fragile already this could be the thing that
44:40sort of pushes them over that edge this type of tragedy should never have happened for it to happen
44:48on a holiday
44:49taints that holiday for that family forever
44:55you know they're not going to remember thanksgiving as a day of joy
45:03you know they're going to remember thanksgiving as a day that corey died
45:10with each passing season amy laden and corey's family can look back on corey parker's life
45:21with love and gratitude for the time they had with her
45:26i have great memories of her you know she taught me a lot
45:32our last thanksgiving together is very special to me and i'll never forget it
45:38that's for sure we had wonderful friends we were hanging out with
45:42and i'll cherish that moment for the rest of my life
45:46a beautiful and vibrant young woman so loved by family and friends
45:53now the victim of a truly senseless and brutal murder still corey parker's love of life fuels
46:04a memory of her a memory that will never go away a memory that will never fade
46:13i'm nancy grace thank you for joining us here on the christmas killings
46:19and i'll see you next time
46:49and i'll see you next time
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