Inset: Terry L. Parker (Bradford County District Attorney). Background: The area in Pennsylvania where authorities found some of the remains of Parker's victim (WNEP).
A 48-year-old Pennsylvania man will spend the rest of his life behind bars for luring his estranged wife's boyfriend to a rural home, shooting him to death, and later dismembering and burning the body in a grisly effort to cover up the killing.
Terry Lynn Parker was convicted of first-degree murder and related charges in the slaying of 40-year-old Michael Pruitt following a four-day trial. Jurors deliberated for less than 35 minutes before returning a guilty verdict, according to a news release from the Bradford County District Attorney's Office.
Judge Evan S. Williams III immediately sentenced him to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
As Law&Crime previously reported, Parker and his wife, Ronda Parker, were accused of orchestrating the killing before driving around with the victim's body in the trunk — even stopping for ice cream with children in the car — as they tried to decide how to dispose of the remains.
Trial testimony showed Parker and his wife lured Pruitt from North Carolina to a home in Columbia Crossroads in March 2024 under false pretenses. Pruitt had been attempting to rebuild his life, secure employment, and reconnect with his children, and was painting the residence at the time of the attack.
On the evening of March 8, prosecutors said Parker arrived armed with a pistol and brass knuckles, parking in a wooded area to avoid detection before sneaking up to the house.
"Parker entered the residence and immediately shot Pruitt in the chest," the release states. "The testimony revealed that Pruitt attempted to escape down the hallway to the master bedroom, but Terry Parker followed him and ultimately killed Pruitt by firing two more shots into his skull, execution style. Testimony showed that Ronda Parker was present in the master bedroom with a two-year-old child in her arms when Terry Parker fired the fatal shots."
After the killing, Parker wrapped the body and removed it from the home before placing it in the trunk of his car and driving back to Harrisburg, where he went to work as if nothing had happened. Over the next day, he and his wife drove around with the corpse, running errands and eventually stopping for ice cream with children still in the vehicle, according to a probable cause affidavit.
Investigators said Parker later recruited his girlfriend, Summer Heil, and returned to Bradford County with the body still in the trunk. Along the way, they purchased an ax and other supplies.
The group then spent hours destroying evidence. Prosecutors said Parker and Heil dismembered Pruitt's body with the ax and burned the remains in a firepit outside the home, while Ronda Parker cleaned blood from inside the residence. Authorities later recovered human bones from the still-smoldering firepit, with assistance from forensic anthropologists, confirming the victim's identity.
Ronda Parker testified at trial that she had sex with her husband in the bedroom shortly after the murder, while Pruitt's blood remained on the floor.
Ronda Parker previously pleaded guilty to third-degree murder and is awaiting sentencing, while Heil pleaded guilty to hindering apprehension and is serving a prison sentence.
Parker claimed he believed Pruitt had sexually abused his children, but prosecutors said there was no evidence to support that allegation.
"In reality, Terry Parker murdered Michael Pruitt because Pruitt was replacing him as a father figure, and was rekindling a relationship with Parker's wife," District Attorney Richard Wilson said. "Terry Parker couldn't tolerate that loss of control."