TOWANDA, PA (WENY) -- The third suspect charged in connection to the murder of a Bradford County man earlier this year was back in court Thursday.
Summer Heil briefly appeared before a judge Thursday afternoon, in a plea hearing held over Zoom. During the hearing, Heil pleaded guilty to a charge of third degree Hindering Apprehension or Prosecution with intent to Conceal or Destroy Evidence.
Heil is one of three people charged in connection to the murder of Michael Pruitt at the home of Ronda Parker in Springfield Township in March. Prosecutors say Heil was not involved in the murder of Pruitt, but had a role after the fact, helping to dismember Pruitt's body, and burn it in a burn pit.
Heil's plea to the single felony charge is part of a plea agreement that will see the other charges against her, Abuse of a Corpse and Tampering with Evidence, dismissed. In exchange, Heil will testify at the murder trials of Ronda and Terry Parker, an estranged husband and wife accused of working together to kill Pruitt.
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According to court documents, Ronda Parker had a sexual relationship with Pruitt, and allegedly conspired with Terry Parker to kill him. Pruitt was shot two times in Ronda's home, before police say the pair put his body in the trunk of a car, and drove to Harrisburg, where Terry and Summer Heil lived. The pair returned with the body the next day, along with Summer Heil, to Ronda's home - where it's alleged Terry Parker and Heil dismembered the body using an axe, and burned the remains in a burn pit.
In court Thursday Heil read a brief statement, stating that Ronda Parker had told her that before the murder, Pruitt had forced her to have sex with him. She later allegedly changed her story and told Heil the sex was consensual, but had also stated that Pruitt had touched Parker's children. Heil also read in the statement that she didn't believe Terry Parker at first when he told her he had a body in the trunk of the car, when he and Ronda came to Harrisburg. Heil also stated that months prior, she had seen Terry Parker in possession of two guns; a revolver and a long gun, and also that Terry Parker had purchased a dashboard camera for his car.
The Bradford County District Attorney said while Heil did not have a direct role in Pruitt's killing, she still bears responsibility for her actions in helping dismember and destroy the remains.
"Essentially the reason for that plea, and for her responsibility was, she made it very clear in court, and this is consistent with our investigation in the case, she played no role in the actual death of Michael Pruitt, she did not know that was going to occur but heard about it after the fact; she nonetheless did help Ronda and Terry Parker dismantle that body, dismember the body and burn the body, and as a result of that now she is convicted of a felony," said District Attorney, Richard Wilson.
The judge accepted Heil's guilty plea, and stated the charge comes with a sentence of up to seven years in state prison. Heil will be sentenced on December 19th in Bradford County court.
If Ronda and Terry Parker's case makes it to trial, it would be sometime in 2025. Both Parkers are charged with Criminal Homicide, Conspiracy - Criminal Homicide, Abuse of a Corpse and Tampering With/Fabricating Physical Evidence.
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