The Murder of Sharon Parker
Warning, this case discusses murder and the kidnapping of an infant.
For this case, I watched an episode of Snapped. It’s season 33 episode 5.
A loving mother is found dead by her young children.
Background
Sharon was born and raised in Florida. She had 2 brothers and a sister. She loved to go out to concerts with her friends and was described as being very fashionable.
In 1976, Sharon became pregnant at age 19 with her daughter, Heather. Sharon and her first husband had gotten married right out of high school and lived in Alabama when Heather was born. They divorced after 3 years of marriage, and she and Heather moved back to Lehigh, Florida, right outside of Ft. Myers.
Sharon worked as a billing coordinator at Charter Glade Hospital, but her true passion was being a mom.
In 1983, Sharon’s mom introduced her to Gary Parker, who worked as a contractor. They soon got married, and Sharon got pregnant with their twins a year later.
In 1990, Sharon announced that she was pregnant with her 4th child, a daughter named Julie, who was born on March 19, 1990.
Sharon Parker
A Shocking Discovery
Just 10 days after Julie was born, Sharon was found dead in her home.
On March 29, Jacob and Joshua Parker, Sharon’s 6-year-old twins had returned home from school. In this episode, they said they were excited to tell their mom about their day at school.
They opened the door to let her know they were home. They noticed Susan slumped over in her chair. They thought she was asleep until they saw the pool of blood on the floor. Susan had been shot in the head.
They searched the house for their newborn sister, Julie. But she was missing.
The twins waited outside for their 14-year-old sister, Heather to return home. She was confused as to why the boys were outside. They told her that they thought their mom was dead. Heather called 911 and took her brothers to their babysitter’s house. The babysitter contacted Sharon’s husband, Gary at work.
The Manhunt
The police and paramedics arrived at the Parker home. An APB (all points bulletin) was put out for Julie.
At 4:40 pm, Gary arrived home. He was asked to look around the house and noticed that a ‘It’s a Girl’ banner was missing. He then went to comfort his children.
The police believed that Sharon had let her killer in and seemed comfortable with this person. Sharon was found sitting in a chair with her leg curled under her. She had been shot in the back of the head with a .25 caliber gun.
A neighbor reported to the police about seeing a suspicious car around 9:45 am that morning. It was described as a faded red hatchback and had been driven by a woman. The neighbor said the car had pulled into the driveway of Sharon’s home. The woman had been seen going inside the home. The woman was described as being about 5’8-5’9 with dark hair. A composite sketch of the woman was released to the media.
The First Suspect
Heather was interviewed by the police with her aunt present.
Heather told the police that a woman, later identified as Gary’s boss came to the house a few days before the murder to meet the baby. Heather said that Sharon had expressed that she was not happy about this as she believed that Gary and his boss spent too much time together.
Gary was interviewed next. He said he had been at work and went to a bar after work on the day of the murder.
The police couldn’t find any issues in the marriage or any financial issues. However, Gary had not been forthcoming about his boss. There was never any proof that Gary and his boss had any type of relationship.
Gary did admit to having a small caliber gun under the seat of his truck. The gun was turned over and he was released after a few hours of questioning.
A .25 caliber shell casing was removed from Sharon’s head during her autopsy. Gary owned a .22 caliber so it was not the murder weapon. Gary’s alibi was checked and confirmed. His boss was also eliminated as she was at work at the time of the murder.
The Mysterious Woman
The police asked the public for help and about 100 tips came in.
Only one tip seemed promising. The tipster, Peggy Mason had seen the news about Sharon’s death and the kidnapping of Julie. Peggy said that the wife of one of her co-workers came into Perkins with her new baby.
Peggy said the hair on the back of her neck stood up. Craig Kirk had been telling his co-workers about his wife, Betty Ann, and how she was about to give birth anyway. According to Craig’s co-workers, Betty Ann never looked pregnant when she visited the restaurant. Craig said Betty Ann had kidney issues.
Betty Ann also wouldn’t let anyone get too close to the baby. But when she finally let Peggy see the baby, Peggy could tell that Betty Ann had shaved the baby’s head.
Peggy gave the police a description of Betty Ann and described the red car that she drove.
One of the investigators was familiar with Betty Ann’s name as he had once investigated her for check fraud.
A Desperate Woman
Betty Ann grew up in Florida. She had 2 children from a previous marriage. Betty’s first husband was abusive but she was able to get away and divorce him.
In 1981, Betty Ann’s children were placed in foster care. In 1982, Betty Ann and Craig Kirk met and married in 1983. They struggled financially. Betty Ann was described as being not well educated and struggled to find a job.
Betty Ann longed for another child and volunteered as much as she could to be around children. She worked as a Girl Scouts leader and as a clown for children's birthday parties.
Betty Ann had forged some checks due to her and Craig’s financial issues. In the summer of 1989, Betty Ann announced that she was pregnant. They announced the birth of their daughter on March 29, 1990, and said her name was Laura.
It was odd because many of the employees at Perkins knew that this was the same day that Sharon Parker was murdered.
The police went to interview Craig at Perkins. However, he was not there.
The other employees all gave the same story. Craig came into work on March 28 and said he believed that Betty Ann would be giving birth soon. Betty Ann came into Perkins the next day with the baby.
The Traffic Stop
The police raced to Betty Ann’s home, which was in very bad condition. Craig was at the home and was intoxicated. He was only able to answer basic questions. Craig confirmed that Betty Ann had given birth on March 29.
Betty Ann came out of the bedroom while the police were speaking to Craig. She claimed to have given birth at the Health Department and was sent home. The police knew that this specific Health Department didn’t deliver babies.
Betty Ann was asked for proof that the baby was hers. She claimed that she couldn’t find the birth certificate.
The police asked to see the baby. Betty Ann agreed and brought her out wrapped in a blanket. It was clear to the police that the baby was more than 2 days old.
The police did not have any evidence that the baby was not Betty Ann’s, so they left.
The police did confirm that there was no record of Betty Ann giving birth anywhere in the area.
While they were surveilling Betty Ann’s home, they saw her making several trips to the car. Betty Ann was stopped by the police about a mile 1/2 away from her home.
Inside the car, the police found baskets of clothing. The baby was not with her and had been left with Craig. The baby was taken away and brought to the hospital by Child Protective Services.
Betty Ann’s Story
Betty Ann agreed to be questioned at the police station. Craig was also interviewed once he sobered up. He said he wholeheartedly believed that Betty Ann was pregnant.
Craig had an alibi on the day of the murder as he had been at work all day. He was asked if Betty Ann had a gun, and he said yes, a .25 caliber. The same type of gun that killed Sharon. Craig was released and eliminated as a suspect.
Betty Ann was asked if she knew Sharon. Betty Ann admitted to meeting Sharon at the mall and that they became friends. Betty Ann had met Sharon while dressed as a clown. She had done face painting for Sharon’s kids. Betty Ann said they bonded when she told Sharon that she was also pregnant, and they exchanged phone numbers.
After reading the birth announcement in the paper, Betty Ann said she decided to drive to Sharon’s on March 29 to congratulate the birth of her daughter.
Betty Ann went on to say that she told Sharon that she was thirsty, so Sharon gave her some money to go to a nearby convenience store. When she returned, Betty Ann said the gun accidentally went off when she took it out of her purse to look for the change she owed Sharon. Betty Ann said she panicked and took the baby.
Betty Ann admitted that she had been pregnant in the summer of 1989 but had a miscarriage. She loved the attention she had been getting by being pregnant and wanted to fix her marriage.
The Arrest and Conviction
The forensics didn’t match Betty Ann’s story. Betty Ann was arrested and stopped speaking to the police.
After her arrest, the police searched Betty Ann’s car. The police found a .25 caliber gun, and the It’s a Girl banner from the Parker home. Betty Ann had also taken clothing and trinkets that belonged to Sharon. There were also several newspapers with birth announcements. Betty Ann had circled about 5-6 birth announcements and Sharon’s name was circled.
The police spoke to some of the other women from the birth announcements. One of these women said that Betty Ann had shown up at her house and said she was a healthcare worker.
The baby in Betty Ann’s possession was positively identified as Julie Parker. She was reunited with her dad and siblings.
On March 30, Betty Ann pled not guilty to charges of first-degree murder and kidnapping.
Betty Ann eventually pled no contest to murder. She was sentenced to life in prison. She will be eligible for release in 2062 when she is 103 years old.
Betty Ann Kirk
FINAL THOUGHTS
Betty Ann was a desperate woman. Craig was about to leave her and she thought that having a baby would fix their issues. It’s terrifying that there are so many cases out there similar to this one. As this episode stated, Betty Ann would have killed anyone who let her into their home to get a baby. I hope all of Sharon’s children are thriving today. They all seem like amazing people who missed out on a life with their mom.
Sources
https://www.oxygen.com/snapped/crime-news/betty-kirk-killed-sharon-parker-stole-10-day-old-baby
https://www.tampabay.com/archive/1990/04/15/woman-took-baby-killed-mom-after-miscarriage-police-say/
https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/?date=19900415&slug=1066500
