Three Charged in Connection to Bradford Co. Murder

(Photo, from left to right: Summer Heil, Terry Parker, Ronda Parker)

SPRINGFIELD TWP./COLUMBIA CROSSROADS, PA (WENY) -- Three people are in the Bradford County Correctional Facility, charged in connection with the murder of a man on Friday evening.

Pennsylvania State Police are investigating the murder of 40-year-old Michael Pruitt, who was shot to death on Friday, March 8th. According to a criminal complaint, Pruitt was killed at the home of his girlfriend, Ronda Parker, on Sawyer Road in Springfield Township.

As a result, Ronda Parker, 48, and Terry Parker, 46, are each charged with Criminal Homicide, Tampering with Physical Evidence, and Abuse of a Corpse. A third person, 36-year-old Summer Heil, is also charged with Tampering with Evidence and Abuse of a Corpse.

According to State Police, troopers responded to Parker's home around 4:30 a.m. on Monday, March 11th for a welfare check, after they were alerted to a series of disturbing text messages. When troopers arrived, they say their investigation revealed a homicide had happened at that location.

According to court documents, Pruitt was at Ronda Parker's home when Terry Parker, who was previously in a relationship with Ronda, shot and killed Pruitt. In an Affidavit of Probable Cause, Ronda Parker told state police that Terry Parker had impersonated her on her phone through text message, and lured Pruitt to Ronda's home on Friday evening. 

In the statement to police, Ronda said at about 6 p.m., that she was in the master bedroom with a one-year-old child, and Pruitt was in the kitchen. Ronda Parker said Terry had sent her a message that he had arrived, and she later heard two gunshots in the kitchen. That's when she told police that Pruitt ran down the hall into the bedroom, with Terry Parker right behind him, and shot Pruitt again. When Pruitt fell to the floor, Ronda Parker said Pruitt was not yet dead, and Terry Parker shot him two more times. 

According to police, investigators found droplets of blood on a kitchen wall, which they said also had a fresh coat of paint. 

The court documents allege Terry and Ronda Parker wrapped up Pruitt's body, and put it in the trunk of Terry's car before they traveled to Harrisburg, where Terry lived. 

Then, on Saturday, March 9th, police say the pair returned to Bradford County, along with Terry Parker's girlfriend, Summer Heil. At this time, Pruitt's body was still in the trunk, according to court documents.

When the three arrived back at Ronda Parker's home, Heil told police Terry Parker popped the trunk and said "That's Michael." Heil said there was a large plastic bag in the trunk, and that Pruitt was wrapped in a sleeping bag inside. 

In the interview with state troopers, Heil said Terry Parker took the bag to a mud pit on the property, and also produced an axe. She said they both took Pruitt out of the bag, and unwrapped him from the sleeping bag. It's then, she said she held Pruitt's limbs while Terry Parker used the axe to cut them off. She said they then put the body parts in plastic bags in a wheelbarrow, where Terry Parker then allegedly pushed to a burn pit and burned the body, along with her soiled clothes. In addition to helping dismember the body, police say Heil told them she admitted to stabbing Pruitt in the chest and head, because she was high on meth and angry about an allegation against Pruitt. 

According to the indictment, police say they have found bones at the burn pit that are presumed to be human. 

Ronda Parker, Terry Parker, and Summer Heil were arraigned at approximately 3 a.m. Tuesday, in front of Judge Jonathan Wilcox in District Court in Troy. Each appearing in shackles, Heil was tearful as judge Wilcox detailed the charges against her and denied bail, saying she was a threat to society.

Terry Parker, appearing disheveled, refused to answer the judge's questions during the arraignment. He remained silent during the brief court appearance, before being led back to the state police vehicle.

Ronda Parker was the last to be arraigned, shaking her head and sighing as the judge reviewed the charges. At times, she put her head down on the table, saying "I don't understand any of this, I don't even know what the [expletive] is going on."

Judge Wilcox denied bail for all three suspects, and send them to the Bradford County jail. Parker, Parker, and Heil are all scheduled to be back in court on March 27th at 2PM.