Welfare Check Over ‘Disturbing’ Texts Leads To Twisted Tale Involving Murder, Dismemberment & Meth

At one point in this grisly saga, according to investigators, the suspects took kids to get ice cream with a dead body in the trunk, before one asked the other if he wanted to keep the tooth of the victim — who they accuse of exposing himself to children — “as a souvenir.”

According to Pennsylvania State Police, Terry Parker, 46, his ex-wife Ronda Parker, 48, and his girlfriend Summer Heil, 36, all face charges in the murder of Michael Pruitt — Ronda’s 40-year-old boyfriend.

The investigation into the trio began on March 11, when troopers responded to a welfare check on Ronda following “a series of disturbing text messages.” According to PennLive, the request came from one of Ronda’s daughters. When authorities arrived on the scene, a fire pit was still smoldering; bones found inside were later confirmed to be human.

The twisted details of how those bones allegedly got there came out through interviews with the suspects.

According to Ronda’s interview with investigators, Terry “lured” her boyfriend to her home by texting him from her phone. When he arrived, Terry shot Pruitt twice in the kitchen, before he ran into her bedroom shouting, “He shot me! He shot me!” She said Terry then “finished off” Pruitt with three more gunshots inside the bedroom.

Per the affidavit of probable cause, Pruitt’s body was then put into a sleeping bag — which was wrapped with a metal chain and tied to a cinder block — and moved into the trunk of a car. The next day, the Parkers are said to have then driven around in the car with his body in the back, taking Ronda’s daughters for ice cream while also reportedly picking up items like a shovel, chainsaw and garbage bags.

The children, aged 4 and 14, are cited as telling investigators Terry informed them Pruitt’s dead body was in the trunk — and told the girls the murder was revenge for Pruitt allegedly masturbating in front of them. Heil also told police Terry had told her about the yet-unsubstantiated masturbation claims and said he planned the attack, while Ronda said Terry wanted Pruitt dead because he had been “sexually inappropriate” with her daughters. Ronda also reportedly claimed her ex was jealous of Pruitt.

Clermont County Sheriff’s Office/Facebook

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The following day, Heil joined the pair and allegedly helped her boyfriend chop up Pruitt’s body. According to authorities, Ronda said she cleaned up the crime scene inside the house, while the other two dismembered her boyfriend with an axe and power saw. Heil reportedly admitted to holding Pruitt’s body while Terry swung the axe, starting with his limbs, then head. She also said she was “high on meth and was angry about what [Pruitt] did,” so she stabbed his dead body in the chest and head.

It appears the Parkers were texting each other throughout the entire ordeal. Alleged messages between them were revealed, via Law & Crime, reading:

Ronda Parker: Terry clorox is not enough in here its everywhereTerry Parker: We need clothes. In a hurry. We both smell like dead animalTerry Parker: Already got more than half of him in the bagsRonda Parker: Just found a tooth on my blankets that [a baby] has been on, would you like it as a souvenir? If that is in the blanket what’s in the baseboard cracks.Ronda Parker: I’d never rat you don’t be a f—ing moronTerry: Being too f—ing paranoid. To the point of obsession. Of course s–t needs to be cleaned. But you are taking it to a whole new level. And the s–t in the fire can’t even be seen. Not even from a very close up look. It’s covered up with rims (of) garbage.

Per WNEP, Ronda also allegedly texted quite a few people detailing what allegedly happened, including a pastor.

“Then he burned the pieces at [the] end of my driveway while people drove by and his girlfriend was inside with me cleaning and bragging about how good it felt to stab a knife repeatedly into his brain,” one message read. Another said, “I’m covered in brains and blood.”

The bagged body parts were, per law enforcement, then thrown into a burn pit on the property and set on fire.

The Parkers have been charged with homicide, abuse of a corpse and evidence tampering, while Heil was hit with only the latter two charges. They’re being held without bond and are expected in court on March 27.