An Elizabethtown man pleaded guilty to second degree murder Monday in the stabbing death of his stepfather in 2015, according to the Bladen County District Attorney’s office.
Jonathan Parker, 47, was sentenced to between 192 months and 243 months in Bladen County Superior Court for killing 78-year-old John Robert Cole at Cole’s home in Elizabethtown on Oct. 19, 2015, the news release said.
Parker was twice declared incapable of standing trial because of his lack of mental capacity. However, following extended in-patient treatment at Central Regional Hospital, the court declared that Parker’s capacity had been restored and the criminal case was allowed to proceed.
Parker had been charged with first-degree murder.
Parker lived in the home with his mother and Cole.
Eyewitnesses told police that Parker had fled the scene on foot before officers arrived, according to the District Attorney’s office. Law enforcement personnel from Elizabethtown, Bladen County Sheriff’s Office and N.C. Highway Patrol searched the area. Parker was captured after about an hour.
Parker admitted to “snapping” and killing Cole following an argument, according to the news release. He also informed officers where the knife he used could be found.
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