ASHLAND — No one questions that April Parks killed her cat with a kitchen knife on April 30, 2024. The question was whether she knew the wrongfulness of the crime at that very moment.
On Monday, Ashland County Common Pleas Judge Dave Stimpert ruled that Parks knew what she was doing. The ruling means Parks’ motion to be found not guilty by reason of insanity (NGRI) failed.
Parks, 45, now faces sentencing on the fifth-degree felony charge of cruelty to animals. Her sentencing hearing has been scheduled for May 5.
The conviction comes nearly three weeks after a March 11 bench trial in which attorneys argued Parks’ state of mind by interviewing five witnesses at the stand, including Dr. Shannon Porter, a forensic psychologist.
The state: she knew
Both the prosecutor — Matt Metcalf — and the defense attorney — Jaceda Blazef — submitted written closing arguments between the bench trial and Monday. Closing arguments are typically given verbally at the end of a trial, but Stimpert allowed the modification.
“The state submits the best evidence of what (Parks) knew or didn’t know regarding her actions comes from her own words and behavior that day, Metcalf wrote in his closing argument.
“(Parks) apologized for killing the cat and attempted to justify doing so. Further, she was evasive with law enforcement officers almost the entire time until they forced entry into the room she was hiding in and detained her,” he wrote.
The defense: she was insane
In her closing argument, Blazef said focusing on her client’s words that day abandons a basic understanding of psychotic behavior.
“The state would like this court to believe that the best evidence in this case came from defendant’s own words … Defense disagrees that anything (Parks said) on this day in question should be used for its truth. She clearly was acting in a psychotic manner,” Blazef wrote.
Blazef pointed to the fact that Parks’ cat was a source of income for her.
“There is no logical explanation as to why anyone of a sane mind would kill such a cat. One of the elements the state has to prove in this case is that she knowingly caused serious physical harm to an animal. This element can not be met based on the evidence at trial,” she wrote.
Ultimately, the judge sided with state
During the 26-minute hearing, held virtually over Zoom, Stimpert said he is not substituting his medical opinion for Porter’s.
“The defendant very well may have been suffering a, what is to this date, undiagnosed mental disease or condition,” the judge said.
But Stimpert said he must weigh all the evidence presented during trial — law enforcement body cam footage, incident reports, testimonies, Dr. Porter’s report — to determine a judgement.
“And when weighing the expert’s opinion against the remainder of the evidence and the testimony, the court finds that the defendant has failed to prove … that at the time of the offense she did not know, as a result of a severe mental disease or defect, the wrongfulness of her act,” he said.
Catch up on the case
A seven-hour bench trial on March 11 at Ashland County Court of Common Pleas gave a glimpse into what happened. Below is a rough timeline of events from that day, based on testimony given by Ashland County sheriff deputies and members of Parks’ family.
Rough timeline of events
- April Parks picked up her three boys from school in Ashland on the afternoon of April 30, 2024. They noticed her erratic behavior and they get into an argument. One of them testified she stopped and kicked them out of the vehicle because she was afraid she’d crash.
- The boys called their dad to pick them up but he was working. They’re still near the school, Ashland Middle School. They called their grandma, Beth Jones, and she came to pick them up.
- When Jones arrives at their house, she discovered the dead cat on the counter and her daughter acting strange. She covered up the cat with a towel, she said. One of the boys called 911 and handed the phone to her. Jones did not tell the dispatcher about the dead cat because she “wanted to protect” her daughter.
- ACSO deputies responded to an “emotionally disturbed” person call in the afternoon of April 30, 2024.
- They found Parks sitting behind a shed on her property, smoking a cigarette, surrounded by her dogs. She mentioned a desire to see her grandmother, who was ill at the time.
- She had a bloodied elbow. Hamilton said she initially thought the wounds were self-inflicted, but officers discoverrf they are cat scratches. Parks mentioned the cat got outside and that she didn’t want the cat to be outside with the dogs.
- Deputies agreed to let Parks drive herself to her aunt’s house to visit her sick grandmother. Parks headed toward the house to clean her elbow and, according to Hamilton’s understanding, got ready to drive to her aunt’s house.
- Officers spoke with Beth Jones, Parks’ mother. Jones is who spoke to a 911 dispatcher to initiate the ACSO’s response.
- As they spoke to the mother, officers heard Parks’ boys crying. The boys said “she killed the cat.”
- Hamilton called for her supervisor, Sims. She walked toward the house, where Parks was suspected to be.
- Officers discovered Parks had barricaded herself in a mudroom, or breezeway. The room is located between the house and the attached garage and blocked by two locked doors.
- All the officers, including Sims, tried to coax Parks out of the locked room for roughly 15 minutes. During this time, Hamilton and the other deputy discovered the dead cat in the kitchen, which was covered by towels.
- Hamilton’s colleague kicked in the door, believing Parks was in danger to herself.
- Officers put Parks in handcuffs and placed her in a patrol vehicle, where she was interrogated by Sims. This is when Parks admitted to killing the cat and apologized. She said she was upset about her sick grandma and about the cat scratching her and about the cat getting outside.
- Deputies escorted her to UH Samaritan, where Parks displayed erratic behavior and refused treatment and evaluation. She also threatened staff by saying her father, who “is God,” will kill them all. Staff there ultimately sedated her.
- She was eventually transported to Ashland County Jail, pending a criminal charge.