Kason Parker, left, and Meghan Kiefer (Parker’s mugshot from Suffolk County District Attorney; Kiefer’s photo from her Facebook page)
A violent ex-convict was sentenced to life in prison after stabbing his ex-girlfriend 54 times with a folding knife while her friend watched in horror before he tried to flee on a New York bus bound for North Carolina.
Kason Parker, 35, was sentenced on Wednesday after pleading guilty on May 1 to second-degree murder for the fatal stabbing of Meghan Kiefer, 27, in 2021, Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond Tierney said in a statement.
The case had already gone to trial, with opening statements and witnesses testifying before Parker elected to plead guilty, including a surgeon who tried to save Kiefer’s life at Stony Brook University Hospital, where she ultimately bled to death.
“Any justice obtained in this case does not allow Ms. Kiefer to see her family again, nor allow her or her family to say goodbye or how much they care about her,” Tierney said. “Justice does, however, allow us to keep a violent individual like this defendant from harming others for a long time. Today, we hope that this sentence brings some form of closure to Ms. Kiefer’s family and loved ones.”
In a victim impact statement, the victim’s mother, Beven Llanes, described her daughter as someone who “wanted to love and to be loved,” Newsday reported. People she did not even know approached her at Kiefer’s funeral and said her daughter “would help them when they were in dark places, even if she was in one too.”
It all went down on Long Island, New York, on Oct. 23, 2021, when Kiefer had planned to go shopping with her friend but first stopped by her home to pick up her credit card from Parker, who had been staying there, prosecutors said.
Kiefer’s friend drove her home that afternoon while her friend’s 1-year-old twins were in the back seat, authorities said. When they arrived, Kiefer’s friend pulled into the driveway, and Kiefer went inside.
When Kiefer walked out, her friend watched Parker and Kiefer arguing on the front porch. Then Kiefer walked back to her friend’s car, but as she was getting in, Parker pulled Kiefer away from the car and began stabbing her with a knife 54 times in her face, neck, head, and torso as she tried to defend herself with her hands, cut by the blade, prosecutors said.
When the friend saw Kiefer covered in blood and lying motionless beside the car, she got out to render aid. But Parker started to come after her. She retreated to the street, then ran back to her car when Parker got into his vehicle, backed out of the driveway, hit her car, and drove off.
The friend immediately called 911, identified Parker, described his red four-door Acura, and provided his license plate information, officials said.
Kiefer went into cardiac arrest and died within minutes of arriving at the hospital, authorities said.
A search was launched for the killer. A day after the murder, a tip came to police that Parker intended to flee to North Carolina via a Port Authority bus from New York City and when homicide detectives went to the Port Authority in Manhattan, they found Parker on a bus headed to the Tar Heel State.
Parker tried to give officers a fake name, but the ploy did not work and he was taken into custody. His right hand was bandaged, and he had a bag of medical supplies. He was later treated at a hospital for a massive cut to the inside of his right palm, officials said.
The following day, authorities found Parker’s red Acura abandoned at Schmitt’s Family Farm on Long Island. The car’s interior was covered in what appeared to be blood.
A search turned up a folding knife from the driver’s side door, which had a mixture of blood from both the assailant and the victim, tests later showed, officials said.
Parker’s clothing tested positive for Kiefer’s blood, according to prosecutors.
The car also had a dashboard camera that captured Parker’s getaway, officials said. Parker also made multiple admissions to taking Kiefer’s life.
Parker’s attorney Joseph Hanshe said in an interview with Law&Crime that his client plans to appeal, which is automatic in this case, on search and seizure issues and a change of venue, saying the victim’s mother is employed by the district attorney’s office.
Newsday confirmed with the DA’s office that the mother works in a non-attorney support position. The information was “disclosed to the court and counsel before the trial,” Newsday reported, citing a department spokesperson.
Parker has multiple prior convictions, including strangulation and assault, according to Albany NBC affiliate WNYT.
Law&Crime’s Colin Kalmbacher contributed to this report.
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