Gerald Parker

Gerald Parker (born 1955) is an American serial killer who raped and murdered five women in Orange County, California.

A sixth victim, who was pregnant at the time of the attack, survived, but her child was delivered stillborn.

Parker was born in 1955 and lived with his family in Phoenix, Arizona.

In 1963, his mother, Frankie Wagner Parker, died while giving birth to her 10th child and his father abandoned his family; Parker was 8 years old.

He moved in with his grandmother, and during the five months he was there, he was sent to Juvenile Hall for sniffing glue.

Afterwards, he and his brother went to live with his older cousin, Florence Russell, in Logan Heights.

Though much of his youth was spent at Boys Republic, a private all-boys school for troubled adolescents, Russell said he never gave her any problems.

In June 1971, his school presented him with a work experience reward for food preparation.

The following year, he was a runner up for the Chino Rotary club's annual Crombie Allen award.

In 1973, Parker joined the Marine Corps and trained in San Diego and Camp Pendleton.

In July, he was sent to Adak Naval Air Facility, where he served for a year as a barracks security guard.

He was transferred to North Carolina and Mississippi before arriving in Tustin in September 1975.

The crimes took place in 1978 and 1979, but Parker was not identified as the killer until 1996.

In late 1979, he served as staff sergeant at the Marine Corps Air Station El Toro until he was dishonorably discharged for a felony conviction the following year.

According to statements made by Parker to forensic psychiatrist Dr. Paul Blair, Parker regularly inhaled glue, paint, and paint thinner between the ages of 7 and 15.

He began using marijuana at age 11, and claimed to use PCP and LSD, as well as speedballs intravenously.

He also reported drinking a case of beer every day for 10 to 11 years.

On July 19, 1979, Parker entered the Costa Mesa apartment of Jane P. through an open dining room window.

He grabbed a piece of wood, hit her over the head several times, and raped her.

A concerned friend went to check on Jane and called the police.

She was taken to the hospital and a rape kit was collected, which would ultimately be tested and matched to Parker's DNA.

Jane was in a coma for about four weeks, her skull had been fractured, and she required a permanent tracheotomy.

On February 2, 1980, Aida Demirjian was locking her car in the underground parking garage at her apartment complex when Parker struck her numerous times with a metal pipe.

He dragged her several feet, took off her necklace, looked through her purse, and lifted up her skirt.

Demirjian got up and ran to the first floor, banged on the apartment manager's door, and lost consciousness.

A witness across the street observed Parker standing over Demirjian and yelled at him to stop; Parker ran off.

Demirjian's fingers were so swollen from trying to protect her head while being attacked that paramedics had to cut off her rings.

When an officer arrived about a block away, Parker crossed the path of his car, whereupon he noticed that Parker had blood stains on his shirt and pants and had blood on his hands.

Parker was detained and provided his Marine Corps identification.

Once the witness indicated that Parker looked like the suspect, Parker was taken into custody.

The officer noted that Parker did not appear to be intoxicated and his demeanor was calm and cooperative.

Another officer located the bloody pipe, which was eight inches long and three inches in diameter.

Near the pipe was a gold and pearl necklace.

Nine months after the attack, on October 2, 1980, Parker was convicted in Los Angeles County Superior Court of robbing Demirjian and inflicting great bodily injury upon her during the commission of the robbery.

Two weeks after the attack on Aida Demirjian, on February 15, 1980, 13-year-old Paula S. was walking home from a drug store in Tustin after attending her father's funeral.

A black van drove past her and pulled over.

Parker exited the driver's side of the vehicle, opened the side door, walked around to the back, and proceeded to check the tire.

But as Paula walked by, Parker grabbed her sweater, punched her in the face, and threw her into the van.

Parker confessed to the murders, and was sentenced to death on January 21, 1999.

Following his conviction, another man, Kevin Lee Green, who had been charged with the attack of the pregnant woman who survived and who was his wife at the time had served 16 years in prison; he was subsequently exonerated and released.