The ex-roommate suspected of fatally shooting an East Point police officer waived her first court hearing on Wednesday morning.
Danielle Alexis Parker was arrested Tuesday and charged with murder in the fatal shooting of Cpl. Crystal Adele Parker. Her next court hearing is set for 9 a.m. on July 24.
Crystal Parker, 34, may have been dead for three days before she was found shot dead inside her home, police said. But within hours of confirmation Tuesday that she was a homicide victim, her alleged killer was arrested.
U.S. Marshals and Fulton County police arrested 30-year-old Danielle Parker on Tuesday night, according to Jim Joyner with the Marshals Service. Danielle Parker was being questioned before being formally charged with homicide, Cpl. Kay Lester with Fulton County police said at an evening press conference.
The women were former roommates, and investigators declined to release a possible motive, Lester said.
Shortly before 5 p.m. Tuesday, the Fulton County Medical Examiner’s Office confirmed that Crystal Parker died from a gunshot wound to the head.
A six-year employee with the East Point Police Department, Crystal Parker was found dead inside her south Fulton County home Sunday night, according to police.
Cpl. Crystal Adele Parker was the type of police officer her chief wanted training new East Point officers.
Her devotion to her job and her kind personality made her a leader among peers, fellow officers and family members said Tuesday night.
East Point Police Chief Woodrow Blue said the slain officer, voted the city’s 2012 Officer of the Year, had a personnel file full of accolades and was in line for a promotion.
“She’s going to be sorely missed,” Blue said. “She was a great officer.”
It wasn’t known if Crystal Parker’s death was related to a burglary at her home last month, Lester said.
Crystal Parker’s Creel Road home was burglarized June 16 and cash, jewelry and an Xbox Kinect were taken, Lester said. No arrests have been in made in that case.
Tuesday night, Joseph Parker, Crystal Parker’s father, thanked officers from both departments for their efforts. Joseph Parker said he didn’t know the alleged killer well and couldn’t comment on the investigation. Instead, he focused on his daughter.
“She was a kind person and very loving human being,” Joseph Parker said. “She was a smart girl. She was talking about going back to college and continuing in her field.”
Joseph Parker did not comment during Wednesday’s hearing.
Funeral plans were not finalized Wednesday.
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