‘He’s gone,’ texts reveal gruesome homicide plot in Bradford County
SPRINGFIELD TOWNSHIP, BRADFORD COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU)— Three people have been charged in connection to the gruesome death of a man in Bradford County.
According to a release from Pennsylvania State Police, on March 5, Ronda Parker invited her boyfriend, Michael Pruitt, to her house on Sawyer Road where he stayed for several days.
On Friday, March 8, Terry Parker arrived at the residence around 6:00 p.m. where he shot Pruitt twice.
The report states Pruitt attempted to run behind Ronda and the one-year-old child she was holding for safety but was shot another two times.
State police said Terry and Ronda moved Pruitt’s body into Terry’s car and then Terry told Ronda to clean up the “blatantly obvious” evidence.
The release states that both suspects drove from Springfield Township to Harrisburg with the body in the car. According to text messages, they got ice cream with the kids while Pruitt was in the car.
Terry’s girlfriend Summer Heil joined the pair when they drove back to Bradford County.
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When the suspects returned to the 1400 block of Sawyer Road, each person reportedly worked to conceal the murder.
The report states Heil and Terry worked on dismembering Pruitt’s body while Ronda worked on cleaning the inside of the house.
While working on cleaning the house, Ronda allegedly texted Terry saying “Just found a tooth on my blankets that (the one-year-old) has been on, would you like it as a souvenir?”
Troopers say Heil and Terry dismembered the body and decided to burn Pruitt in a fire pit to make him harder to identify.
After the body was burned, Terry reportedly texted Ronda saying “He’s gone” referring to Pruitt.
When troopers arrived after receiving a request from a concerned friend for a welfare check on Ronda, they said they saw a smoldering fire where they would later find Pruitt’s remains, blood droplets in the kitchen, and fresh paint on the walls.
All three people on the scene were taken into custody in the homicide investigation.
Police asked Heil why she thought Terry would have killed Pruitt, and according to the affidavit, Heil said he likely killed Pruitt because Pruit allegedly pleasured himself in view of Terry’s four and 13-year-old daughter.
She said this is what led her to stab Pruitt’s body multiple times as well as “being high on meth”.
Both Ronda and Terry Parker are currently charged with conspiracy to commit homicide, abuse of a corpse, and tampering with evidence.
Heil is currently being charged with abuse of a corpse and tampering with evidence. Heil is not being charged with conspiracy to commit homicide.
All three have been denied bail and are being held in the Bradford County Prison.
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