Authorities: Man charged in three murders researched serial killers, grave robbing
Jul. 28—A homeless man already accused of killing women from McClure and Bloomsburg researched serial killers and took Michigan investigators on a tour of where he said he placed the body of a 21-year-old pregnant woman in 2005, according to Calhoun County officials.
Harold David Haulman III, 43, was charged Monday with murdering Ashley Parlier, who went missing in 2005 from her hometown of Battle Creek, Michigan.
On Tuesday, Calhoun County officials held a press conference and said they worked with Pennsylvania law enforcement, including former Bloomsburg state trooper and now Luzerne County Detective Shawn Williams, after Williams gathered information from Haulman about the Parlier murder.
Williams is the arresting officer in the homicide cases of McClure resident Tianna Phillips, 25, who went missing in 2018, and Bloomsburg resident, Erica Shultz, 26, late last year.
Williams said Haulman admitted to killing both Phillips and Shultz and then began to talk about Parlier. Williams said he contacted Michigan authorities when he discovered Parlier was missing, according to police.
"Calhoun County detectives, along with multiple other agencies, conducted a search of a wooded area in Newton Township south of the City of Battle Creek," Calhoun County Sheriff Steve Hinkley said. "This is the first of two searches that were conducted in that general area. Ashley's body was not located."
Hinkley said Michigan officials interviewed Haulman after traveling to Pennsylvania. "During the interview with detectives, Haulman confessed to having an argument with Ashley at a home," Hinkley said. "He indicated he had assaulted her, knocking her unconscious. He then drove her to a remote area in Newton Township where he struck her in the head several times with a piece of wood until she was dead and later discarded his blood-covered clothing that he wore at the time."
Haulman was escorted to Michigan to assist in locating Parlier's body.
"In early June of this year, Haulman again agreed to assist detectives in locating Ashley's body. He was flown from Pennsylvania to Battle Creek where he was transported by detectives in an attempt to locate the area where the murder occurred, although the area has changed over the 16-year period, they were again unable to locate her body."
Hinkley said a forensic social media search showed Haulman researched material related to serial killers and grave robbing. The case is still being investigated, Hinkley said.
"This case is not over," he said. "Detectives will still be working on additional information to locate Ashley (Parlier)."
According to Calhoun County Detective John Pignataro, Haulman III, 43, was charged Monday with Parlier's murder. An arrest warrant has been sent to Pennsylvania, he said.
"First and foremost, our thoughts and prayers go to Ashley Parlier's family," Hinkley said. "Including Ashley, they are the true victims in this case. It is unfortunate that Ashley Parlier's parents Russell and Sharie Parlier passed away in 2020. They've sacrificed many years waiting and hoping for answers. Their commitment to this case being resolved, along with Ashley Parlier's surviving sister, has kept detectives searching for answers."
Local homicides
On Dec. 6, 2020, relatives reported Shultz missing to the Bloomsburg Police Department. During that investigation, law enforcement learned Shultz was in contact with Haulman when Williams interviewed Haulman's wife, Anne Haulman.
Anne Haulman told police that her husband was also involved with Phillips, according to court documents. Anne Haulman told investigators Haulman and Phillips were seeing each other and that he became irate when she confronted him about the situation, police said.
Williams charged Haulman with Phillips' murder in May as Haulman walked in for a hearing in the Shultz homicide case. Williams said Haulman beat Phillips with a hammer and stabbed her with a knife, then disposed of the body in a Columbia County dumpster in 2018.
