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Man arrested for 1992 murder
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| Betty Lou Parks |
Published Friday May 5, 2006
By LEE JUILLERAT
H&N Regional Editor
A man accused of murdering an Alturas teenage girl nearly 14 years ago was arrested Wednesday in Redding.
Christopher Bradbury, 31, Shasta Lake, will be charged with first-degree murder for the 1992 death of 14-year-old Betty Lou Parks. He is being held in the Shasta County Jail in Redding without bail.
The Modoc County Sheriff's Department in 2002 turned the investigation over to California Department of Justice investigators. The investigators made the arrest.
Parks disappeared June 25, 1992, just days after she graduated from Modoc Middle School's eighth-grade class. Her body was found May 16, 1993, in Modoc Estates, a rural subdivision near Alturas. DNA tests identified the body Oct. 12, 1993.
Parks' mother and stepfather, Bonnie and Robert Dukes of Alturas, were notified of the arrest Wednesday afternoon.
“I never thought this day would come,” Bonnie Dukes said Thursday. “I've been waiting 14 years. I'm so relieved. The whole family is relieved.”
Dukes said she does not know Bradbury but, “Now I know where to vent my anger.”
Bradbury would have been 17 at the time of crime and court hearings will determine whether he will be tried as an adult.
Modoc County District Attorney Jordan Funk said the law does not allow him to identify the suspect until then, but other authorities confirmed Bradbury as the suspect.
“In cases where the charges are serious and an accused (person) was nearly 18 at the time of his crime, it is not uncommon to ask the court to find the person ‘unfit' to be adjudicated as a minor,” Funk said. “I intend to file such a motion in this case.”
He expects a decision in a few weeks. Funk said the suspect will be sent to the Modoc County Jail in Alturas to be arraigned for murder today or Tuesday.
Department of Justice investigators were unavailable for comment, but Funk credited their department for breaking the case.
“The investigation case was cracked by them,” Funk said. “It was a lengthy investigation. There was a lot of ground-pounding and collecting of information from witnesses. We got some breaks in the case that came from an unidentified source.”
Last seen June 1992
Dukes last saw her daughter June 25, 1992, when the family went fishing at Dorris Reservoir near Alturas. Parks, who didn't like fishing, asked to spend the night at a friend's house, and Dukes gave her approval.
“I told her OK because she'd just walk from the reservoir to town anyway,” Dukes said in a 2003 interview. “I never thought that morning would be the last time I would see my daughter alive. She never returned.”
Parks didn't return the next day so her mother figured, “We'll deal with it when she came home.” When another day passed and her daughter still hadn't returned or called, Dukes said, “It didn't feel right. I thought it was just an over-reaction feeling.”
She called the Alturas Police Department and filed a missing person report.
On May 16, 1993, a scattering of remains was found under a large piece of particleboard in Modoc Estates. She was buried in an infant's coffin Nov. 12, 1993, in Alturas.
Since then, rumors and gossip periodically sparked controversy.
Because the remains were found outside Alturas, the case was transferred to the Modoc County Sheriff's Department. In 2002, after more than a decade of dead-ends, Sheriff Bruce Mix asked state “cold case” investigators to take over.
“It's a case that has haunted me because in a community this small we're not supposed to lose 14-year-old girls,” Mix said in a 2003 interview.
At the urging of Bonnie Dukes, Mix sent a letter to then-California Gov. Gray Davis, asking him to offer a $50,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of Park's killer.
“Because of my personal involvement in this matter, I am convinced the responsible party, or parties, lived locally and that others know who is responsible,” Mix said. “I strongly believe there are people with knowledge of this case. Even with the assistance of a ‘cold case detective' we need a large monetary incentive to speak out or this case will never be solved.”
Dukes also enlisted Citizens Against Homicide, a California-based organization of victims' relatives, to rent a billboard in downtown Alturas.
“I hadn't given up on the case. I never will give up on it,” Dukes said Thursday.
By LEE JUILLERAT
H&N Regional Editor
A man accused of murdering an Alturas teenage girl nearly 14 years ago was arrested Wednesday in Redding.
Christopher Bradbury, 31, Shasta Lake, will be charged with first-degree murder for the 1992 death of 14-year-old Betty Lou Parks. He is being held in the Shasta County Jail in Redding without bail.
The Modoc County Sheriff's Department in 2002 turned the investigation over to California Department of Justice investigators. The investigators made the arrest.
Parks disappeared June 25, 1992, just days after she graduated from Modoc Middle School's eighth-grade class. Her body was found May 16, 1993, in Modoc Estates, a rural subdivision near Alturas. DNA tests identified the body Oct. 12, 1993.
Parks' mother and stepfather, Bonnie and Robert Dukes of Alturas, were notified of the arrest Wednesday afternoon.
“I never thought this day would come,” Bonnie Dukes said Thursday. “I've been waiting 14 years. I'm so relieved. The whole family is relieved.”
Dukes said she does not know Bradbury but, “Now I know where to vent my anger.”
Bradbury would have been 17 at the time of crime and court hearings will determine whether he will be tried as an adult.
Modoc County District Attorney Jordan Funk said the law does not allow him to identify the suspect until then, but other authorities confirmed Bradbury as the suspect.
“In cases where the charges are serious and an accused (person) was nearly 18 at the time of his crime, it is not uncommon to ask the court to find the person ‘unfit' to be adjudicated as a minor,” Funk said. “I intend to file such a motion in this case.”
He expects a decision in a few weeks. Funk said the suspect will be sent to the Modoc County Jail in Alturas to be arraigned for murder today or Tuesday.
Department of Justice investigators were unavailable for comment, but Funk credited their department for breaking the case.
“The investigation case was cracked by them,” Funk said. “It was a lengthy investigation. There was a lot of ground-pounding and collecting of information from witnesses. We got some breaks in the case that came from an unidentified source.”
Last seen June 1992
Dukes last saw her daughter June 25, 1992, when the family went fishing at Dorris Reservoir near Alturas. Parks, who didn't like fishing, asked to spend the night at a friend's house, and Dukes gave her approval.
“I told her OK because she'd just walk from the reservoir to town anyway,” Dukes said in a 2003 interview. “I never thought that morning would be the last time I would see my daughter alive. She never returned.”
Parks didn't return the next day so her mother figured, “We'll deal with it when she came home.” When another day passed and her daughter still hadn't returned or called, Dukes said, “It didn't feel right. I thought it was just an over-reaction feeling.”
She called the Alturas Police Department and filed a missing person report.
On May 16, 1993, a scattering of remains was found under a large piece of particleboard in Modoc Estates. She was buried in an infant's coffin Nov. 12, 1993, in Alturas.
Since then, rumors and gossip periodically sparked controversy.
Because the remains were found outside Alturas, the case was transferred to the Modoc County Sheriff's Department. In 2002, after more than a decade of dead-ends, Sheriff Bruce Mix asked state “cold case” investigators to take over.
“It's a case that has haunted me because in a community this small we're not supposed to lose 14-year-old girls,” Mix said in a 2003 interview.
At the urging of Bonnie Dukes, Mix sent a letter to then-California Gov. Gray Davis, asking him to offer a $50,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of Park's killer.
“Because of my personal involvement in this matter, I am convinced the responsible party, or parties, lived locally and that others know who is responsible,” Mix said. “I strongly believe there are people with knowledge of this case. Even with the assistance of a ‘cold case detective' we need a large monetary incentive to speak out or this case will never be solved.”
Dukes also enlisted Citizens Against Homicide, a California-based organization of victims' relatives, to rent a billboard in downtown Alturas.
“I hadn't given up on the case. I never will give up on it,” Dukes said Thursday.
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leesa wrote on Jan 23, 2009 12:37 PM:
" these things should never happened in this world. the world should be safe. "
samantha r. wrote on Sep 23, 2008 12:12 PM:
" this article is So true when your a teen girl and your pregnant It seems to feel like your life is over and there is no way you can fix it but that's not true if your young and your going to have a child then stay focused in school your child wants you to succeed in life so he/she can succeed in life my name is Samantha R. I'm 14 years old i live in Klamath falls and i might be pregnant :] If so I'm determined to make sure my child has a better life then i did :] "
Babe wrote on Jan 23, 2008 6:54 PM:
" I think that chiloquin people do need help and not just the teens but i have also seen places that are alot worse i moved from L.A to chiloquin and ive been back there since and trust me chiloquin is nothing. I also think that crime and drugs etc. are noticed more because it is so small compared to other places and there is no form of disaplin at all "
Tony P. wrote on Jan 19, 2008 7:55 PM:
" I remember the night the plane went down.. My mother crying and my dad in tears.. his dad searched for him for years...
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Jane D. wrote on Apr 10, 2009 12:00 AM:
I Love You Bobby
May your soul Rest In Peace
-Deems "