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The Tragic Murder of Corey Parker | The Christmas Killings hosted by Nancy Grace

April 29, 2025 / 46:58

This episode covers the brutal murder of Corey Parker in Jacksonville Beach, Florida in 1998, the investigation that followed, and the eventual arrest of Robert Denny.

Corey Parker, a 25-year-old college student, was found dead in her apartment after missing work on Black Friday. Her manager's concern led to the discovery of her body, which was gruesomely stabbed 101 times. The police began their investigation, uncovering evidence of a struggle and a possible Peeping Tom in the area.

As detectives interviewed friends and coworkers, they focused on Eric, a coworker who was infatuated with Corey, but DNA evidence did not link him to the crime. The investigation turned cold until a tip led them to Robert Denny, a teenager who had acted suspiciously after Corey’s murder.

After a lengthy investigation, detectives managed to collect Denny's DNA, which matched the evidence from the crime scene. Despite initial hesitations from the state prosecutor, Denny was arrested and charged with first-degree murder.

The trial revealed the horrific details of Corey’s death, leading to Denny's conviction and life sentence. The episode reflects on the impact of Corey’s murder on her family and friends, forever changing their Thanksgiving memories.

TLDR

Corey Parker was brutally murdered in 1998; Robert Denny was convicted after DNA evidence linked him to the crime.

Episode

46:58
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1998 Jacksonville Beach Florida a group of University students plan a friendsgiving when they cannot travel
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home for Thanksgiving holiday she was involved in getting everybody together and inviting people she had spent the
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day before Thanksgiving cooking several different pies not even seasoned veteran police
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are prepared for the vicious nature of the crime that unfolded it looked just like somebody had placed her hand in a
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pool of blood without many sta wounds you sometimes wonder you is this the portal of
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hell it shocked the Mind initially police looked at several suspects in a desperate attempt to make their Beach
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toown safe by Christmas he was infatuated with her almost obsessed she knew things about this crime scene
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that none of us knew it didn't add up as police close in on a Thanksgiving killer
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the fear only escalates the person who did this could do it again [Music] [Music]
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hello I'm NY Grace Thanksgiving is wonderful it's a holiday that usually
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brings families together people travel across the country across the world parents children and relatives celebrate
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with wonderful food great company and happy times that become happy memories but sometimes lengthy travel gets in the
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way of children returning home in 1998 25-year-old Corey Parker decides to stay put in Jacksonville
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Beach Florida where she's going to school instead of being with her family Upstate New York she's scheduled to work
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on Black Friday at at the rag Time Restaurant but she never shows up for her shift when she failed to show up her
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manager became alarmed this was not her character she's somebody that could be
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relied upon and was very trusted to show up for her to miss a shift was highly unlikely Cory was a good worker she
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would come for a shift she wouldn't miss it any shifts Cory's manager asked one
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of the cooks at the restaurant to go and check on her the cook went to her apartment and knocked on the door but
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could not get an answer through the front window the cook can see Cory Parker's
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kitchen the thing that caught him as a little bit odd was her purse was sitting there and he could tell there was a pie
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out on the counter it just didn't sit right with him the cook walks around to
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the back of Cory's apartment and he can see into her [Music] bedroom and he could see her her foot
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and he knew it was her because she had this tow ring that she always wore and he said there was just blood
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everywhere First Responders arrive at Cory Parker's apartment inside her bedroom a shocking disturbing and tragic
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scene the police discovered Cory's nude body lying on the bed and the blood was
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covering her in such a dramatic way that it looked like it had almost been painted on
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her homicide detectives and a forensic unit start processing the horrific crime scene Cory was stabbed multiple times
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and with every second she was getting stabbed and she's fighting for her life the forensic investigators arrived
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at the scene they discovered there's hairs in her hand when you find those things it just
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makes it seem worse because you know that there is a struggle she did fight to her sail and hair was
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in her clutch it was a bad brutal way to leave this world there was blood found at the scene by the kitchen window which
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faces like the back of her apartment they discovered blood stains which looked just like somebody had
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placed her hand in a pole blood and then placed it on the window which is indicative of somebody trying to get out
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of the window they also took samples of a lot of different blood spattering at the scene
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and one of the droplets that they collected was on the sink when you're stabbing somebody
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multiple times there's a high probability of that person's going to become injured as well they're still
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trying to stab somebody and their hand sliding off of the handle onto the bleed and they're cutting themselves then the
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suspect's blood ends up near the sink and by the window it's a damning piece
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of of evidence especially if you can tie suspect to [Music] it when there is a Savage knife attack
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like this one not only are victims wounded and killed but very often so are perpetrators they are wounded as they
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wield the knife detectives are hoping here that blood and hair samples will lead them to a DNA match of the animal
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who murdered Cory Parker meanwhile police are canvasing the neighborhood where Cory
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lived the crime happened where Cory Parker lived in Jacksonville Beach was a little small apartment building close to
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the beach it was within walking distance she lived alone she was on a ground floor apartment and there was other like
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buildings next to it so kind of close together within eyesight of each other the detectives learned that there had
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been a Peeping Tom in the community was very disturbing Corey had even told some of
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her friends that she felt like there was a Peeping Tom watching her being on the ground level this is
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exactly what she should be afraid of the detectives had to consider that this peeping Tom could very well be the
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as salent that killed Cory I was sitting in my mom's I got a call from David her
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boyfriend and he was hysterical he could barely talk he was just balling I could hear him saying
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something's wrong with Corey you need to find out what's going on so I happened to know a paramedic
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that lived nearby so I called him and I asked him if he could tell me what's
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going on and he said um she was dead it was so shocking I didn't register it at
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all I didn't believe them I remember thinking she's fine I just talked to her
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the day before Thanksgiving a police officer called me and I went straight to the police
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station I met with Detective rigan and she brought me into a room asked me questions mostly about the last time I
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had seen Corey did I know what she planned on doing for Thanksgiving I told detective rigan that
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she had planned on attending the orphan party for Thanksgiving which is where where people get together that don't
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have family in the area she was um baking pies and bringing them with her she very much enjoyed the cook and she
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was really good at it she was a Fabulous Baker when I met Corey she had moved from Rochester New York to Jacksonville
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Beach to go to college and we clicked instantly Corey was extremely intelligent she was fun she was very
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kind and respect ful to everybody she was 5' 11 so obviously just being tall she stood out but she
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was also beautiful like a model she was somebody that would really draw your attention when she walked in the room
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absolutely gorgeous and had a personality to match she was beautiful physically and inside
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she definitely lit up a room when she walked in Cory Parker seems so happy with her life
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she recently started dating someone new although she and David didn't know each
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other for very long they were very passionate very quickly about each other and they had so much fun together I
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remember her describing him to me I found this guy who was just amazing and she said he's extra special
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really digging this guy the police really wanted talk to Corey's boyfriend David when the police
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talk with David he is genuinely distraught by Cory's murder furthermore he's able to provide them evidence that
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he was not even in the area at the time Cory died he had flown to see family for
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the Thanksgiving [Music] holiday when autopsy results come back investigators learned that thankfully
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Corey Parker was at least spared a sex assault still the way that Cory is killed the Savage stabbing much of it
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after she dies are chilling Cory was stabbed 101 times autopsy revealed that 54 of those times
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were postmortem that lends towards the whole viciousness of the crime this person had a lot of rage in them that
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they're willing to stab somebody that much this person took their time it was
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gruesome it shocked the Mind detectives convinced they're looking for a deeply depraved
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killer Black Friday is one of the busiest retail days in the US that means restaurants are super busy also student
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Corey Parker misses Thanksgiving with with her family to work a shift at Ragtime restaurant and now that family
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will never have a chance for another Thanksgiving or Christmas with Corey the Jacksonville police conduct an extensive
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investigation throughout the holidays they learn the last time Cory seen alive is the day before Thanksgiving that is
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when she borrows a pie thermometer and complains about a Peeping time c as the New Year rolls around investigators
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finally get a lead it's about a coworker who's fixated on Corey police turned
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their attention to him there was a dishwasher that worked at the same restaurant as Corey he was
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27 years old Eric was his [Music] name he was infatuated with her one would say almost
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obsessed in the months before she died Eric had been asking Corey out on a regular basis she continued to tell him
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no she was really nice about it she didn't want to hurt his feelings coworker Eric is informally
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interviewed by detectives January 18 and he willingly agrees to give a hair sample for a possible DNA match one week
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later Jacksonville PD invite him to the station for a formal interview Jesus Eric she told you she
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had boyfriends she had plan she had school she didn't want to be with you Eric you weren't her type she didn't
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want a relationship with you Eric and you couldn't accept that detectives Badger Eric looking for any reaction
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kept asking her out Thanksgiving dinner she didn't want to be with you ER she
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had plans but you didn't want to accept that did you no you didn't no but I was
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willing to let it go you were pissed off at her you were pissed off because you wanted her and she did not want you you
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wanted a life with Cory Eric you wanted a life with Cory she did not want you you were the one that was
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pipped off with her Eric you cooworker Eric concedes he desperately wanted to spend Thanksgiving
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with Corey Eric's obsession with Corey is really demonstrated by his actions on
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Thanksgiving he told the detectives he made a meal for her and was planning to invite her he had invited her she never
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committed but he still made the Thanksgiving dinner that uh seems weird she went to all that work and she didn't
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even show up the interview gets even more intense as as the hours tick by she was about pissed off at me too
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that's probably why she didn't you know why she was pissed at you Eric because
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you couldn't take no for an answer that's why you could not take no for an
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answer how many times is a woman have to tell you no Eric finally reveals how he
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really feels about Corey Parker you think you were obsessed with her that was slightly obsessed but I would do
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greatly obsessed D Jesus did my God I was I was upsets tell me the things that you think about doing
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with women even detectives are shocked by Eric's next response me like um Tak
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him into a bedroom and raping him they kind of thrilling to get away with it maybe I
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would share the same thoughts as this first that did I would like to fantasize myself doing it instead of him doing but
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I didn't do one of the detectives asked him well if you would have killed Corey how
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would you have done it what fantasies do you have how would you contain her how how how would this
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person feel P her down she was tired um by will probably if he didn't want to be a
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suspect he was doing a real good job selling himself as one and he just Pok her do whatever stab her put her thr
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like wait for her the how get now follow whatever had detectives walk away from that
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interview convinced they've got Cory's killer and they wait for the lab results
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obtained from blood and hair collected at the murder scene the hair sample and the blood drop CIT sample
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that they found came from the same person and that person was not Cory Parker many times in a homicide
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investigation Clues turn out to be too good to be true in the case of Cory Parker's murder police now have the
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Killer's DNA too good to be true right well what they don't have is the problem
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the DNA sample from the crime scene does not match their Prime suspect Cory Parker's coworker
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Eric he would have been a perfect suspect but he tested negative investigators now turn to one
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of the last people to see Cory Parker alive a friend named Tiffany Tiffany and Cory was at a bar
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the night before Thanksgiving together Cory went out to the rits just to go have drinks and meet some friends
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from work and Tiffany was there they did meet up that night at the bar detectives focus on the friend
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Tiffany they've heard rumors she also was obsessed with Corey Parker I remember a discussion with her about
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being by curious meaning interested in girls and guys which I mentioned to the police officer so I think the that kind
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of built a little thing for them to start looking at her detective zero in on Tiffany and they discover something
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alarming Tiffany seems to have knowledge of the crime scene that was not public so it's very concerning that
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possibly she knew this because perhaps she was the one who killed Corey police bring in Tiffany for an interview
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she tells them she and Cory Parker go to the Ritz Bar the night before Thanksgiving and that Cory leaves the
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bar around 1 a.m. then Tiffany says she calls Corey in the early morning hours of
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Thanksgiving 2 a.m. if Tiffany had told the police officers that she called Corey around 2:
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in the morning Cory didn't answer the phone however when the police looked back at the phone records there was no
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call made at 2:00 so I don't think her story was adding up as the interview goes on Tiffany
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refuses to cooperate and give a DNA sample to detectives they become even more suspicious is it possible that Tiffany
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had a crush on Corey and was upset with her because Corey had no interest in Tiffany in a romantic
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way a court order was obtained to get her DNA when the results come back unfortunately it does not match the
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hair and blood found at the scene investigators also learned Tiffany's inside knowledge of the crime
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scene comes from one of the First Responders once again detectives are back to square one in a case as gruesome
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as Corey Parker's death she want to solve this case she want to bring Justice to your
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victim you have to be her voice and it's difficult for now the DNA collected at
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the crime scene eliminates all the viable Suspects the case haunts the Jacksonville police over the following
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year who killed Cory [Music] Parker Jacksonville Beach Florida another Thanksgiving Christmas and New
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Year's pass by for most people life goes on but for those people who knew Cory
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Parker her love of Life continues to be remembered Jacksonville police have run out of leads in Cory's case but they
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haven't run out of Hope with the case goes cold and evidence start drying up it
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affects the [Music] investigators in a resort town like Jackson Ville Beach people come and go quite
00:22:03
frequently so your suspect could be gone and slows the case up dramatically it raised a whole set of
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new questions then who on Earth could have possibly or would have done this for what
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reason with the lack of further Clues to investigate Cory's family put up the
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funds for law en enforcement offer a $220,000 reward for any evidence that could help solve this
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[Music] case when the reward was posted it did generate several tips one of the tips LED them to a
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steakhouse that was near where Cory Parker lived the tip was about a 17-year-old employee at that Steakhouse
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his name Robert Denny when Jacksonville police do some digging they discover some very strange things about the
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teenager shortly after Cory Parker's death he was acting very bizarre at work
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he was crying he was sulking he claimed that his son had died in Texas and he needed to get back to that location but
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he didn't have the money so employees of that Steakhouse donated money to get a flight
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back but when he left he never came [Music] back Robert Denny doesn't have a son he
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only wants to get out of Jacksonville Beach and guess where he's living during
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holiday season 1998 he lived in a second story building next to Cy Parker from his vantage point in his
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apartment he could look into her Windows of her [Music] apartment Robert had confided in several
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co-workers that he used to look through from his window down into Cory Parker's
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window the fact that he left so sudden and never returned indicated to me that he
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had something he was hiding he was running from something the detectiv speak to Robert
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Denny's sister whom he was living with at the time of the murder she describes Robert as being a
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very strange person she says that at one point in time she woke up to find him above her
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beds just staring at her as she slept this was so upsetting to her that she asked him to move
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out detectives learn Robert Denny has moved to e Maryland they contact local police there for help I reviewed our CAD
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system which is our system that we control all our reports and complaints the review turns up a hit for a domestic
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disturbance we had actually had an incident with him a couple weeks prior he had moved him with a
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50-year-old woman he had befriended this woman online in a poker chat room and uh the
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domestic argument is sued between her her husband and him detective Miller uses that domestic incident as a pretext
00:26:06
for paying a visit to the residents so I one knocked on the door and the woman that he was living with she answered the
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door I asked her if Robert was there when I did he came around the corner and introduced himself
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[Music] they invited me in the house we sat and we talked gave them the basic hey it's
00:26:35
everything good now and has anyone been fighting since that day and any injuries the woman tells detective
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Miller there's been no violence since her husband moved out she says her two
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children are still living in the residence and and uh I left and came back and contacted Jacksonville Beach
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and said okay we got him he's here when are you coming to get them Jacksonville
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police do not have enough PC probable cause for an arrest warrant they joined forces with Eastern Maryland police to
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investigate Robert Demi and what they discover about his family history is extremely alarming
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Robert Denny's older brother was actually serving a life sentence for a murder that was eerily
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similar to that of Cory Parker Robert's brother had been just 15 years old when
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he committed his crime he was a paper boy on a paper route she opened up the door turned to
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give him a payment and he attacked her and that murder involves stabbing the victim
00:28:04
96 times Jacksonville Beach Florida 1998 while Cory Parker's happily baking pies
00:28:19
for Thanksgiving someone with a murder on his mind is watching the beautiful 25-year-old fast forward two years later
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police believe a man named Robert Denny is involved detectives must match DNA found at the scene to Denny to do that
00:28:41
they need a DNA sample from Denny to compare to DNA from the murder scene the two detectives from down in
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Jacksonville Beach that were assigned to Cold Case was a sergeant bill carile and
00:28:58
detective Katie Kingston Katie Billy myself Jim you know we get in the room and we're just
00:29:05
talking about you know what can we do to try to get the DNA from Robert Denny we came up with this ruse of the
00:29:13
serious assault in his neighborhood so we needed to exclude him as a suspect it was false it was a fake crime
00:29:21
the whole purpose was to get him into the office to talk to him and see if I can collect his DNA
00:29:28
[Music] so I reached out to Robert and told him hey look I'm investigating an assault
00:29:38
that took place around 3:00 a.m. and that the suspect kind of matched his description
00:29:47
and I was wondering if he could come in and talk to me Robert Denny voluntarily comes to the
00:29:54
east police station for an interview he sat down and I asked him a series of questions and the whole time with Robert
00:30:04
I was playing the bumbling idiot you know uh where's my pen what oh it's here
00:30:09
so he felt very at ease with me to the point where he I'm pretty sure he felt
00:30:15
he was controlling this whole thing I started asking him questions about this alleged
00:30:21
crime he said I didn't have anything to do with it I was home I was in bed I I
00:30:26
wasn't out they asked him for a sample of his DNA under the guise that it has
00:30:32
to do with this assault case as soon as I said DNA he went from a position like this where he was very
00:30:41
open he was jovial to he crossed his legs he folded his arms and he literally pushed away from
00:30:50
me so he said I'd rather not do that detectives cannot get Robert Denny to volunteer to give a DNA sample their
00:31:01
next step to get that sample without Denny ever [Music] knowing I had bottles of water brought
00:31:09
in he was given a bottle I had a bottle they offered him some water and then he opened a water bottle but he never took
00:31:17
a drink detectives get more creative for their second attemp at obtaining Denny's
00:31:25
DNA so I looked at Robert I said look I said said I really need a cigarette do you smoke he says yeah and I lit a
00:31:32
cigarette he lit a cigarette I smoked my cigarette I put it out in the aster he smoked his cigarette put it out
00:31:41
put the cigarette butt behind his ear police try yet again so I typed out a little letter and
00:31:52
the letter said that at this particular point I refus to give a DNA sample however I reserved my right to give one
00:32:01
after talking to my lawyer so I typed it out he signed it he folded it up I asked him put it in an
00:32:08
envelope and seal the envelope and he stopped and he looked at me he says that's the third thing you want my lips
00:32:13
to be on the water bottle the cigarette and now this you want to seal you seal it he asked if he was free to go the
00:32:27
officer said yes and then he left police are now back to square one Robert Denny
00:32:33
is outright defiant in all their efforts to get his DNA when you're involved with
00:32:39
something like that you know the old saying is trust your instincts in your gut and that's important I mean because
00:32:44
you'll feel something when it's not right we have an agency from another
00:32:49
state come to us needing our help to catch a killer from their jurisdiction who killed a young woman in a brutal
00:32:57
fashion and it's pressure to not let anyone down not let the family down of the victim
00:33:03
first of all and and the voiceless victim being Miss [Music] Parker now East police must try more
00:33:12
covert attempts to get Robert Denny's DNA we were detailed to do surveillance we were looking for those
00:33:22
opportunities that he would become careless when we were doing surveillance at the resid where he was staying we
00:33:29
were looking to see if he would put his trash out to the curb like every other person in America would normally do on
00:33:34
trash date but he wasn't doing that he would load him up in in this little pickup truck and he would take it to the
00:33:40
dump he was a very nervous and paranoid individual detectiv take out the computer store where Robert Denny Works
00:33:48
they now believe it's their only chance to get a DNA sample from Denny spit up to two surveillance teams
00:33:57
and we in a van that was blacked out me and my partner at the time we were out of a card using binoculars in a
00:34:06
video camera keeping an eye on front and back of the business you know moving around not to be seen continuously you
00:34:14
feel the pressure anytime you're doing anything undercover there's that inherent risk and it becomes
00:34:19
nerve-wracking we were about 200 yard away from the rear entrance of where he worked at
00:34:28
every 15 20 minutes we saw Robert coming out of the building and when he came out
00:34:33
of the building he would start smoking he would always look around he was real nervous and he would smok a
00:34:40
cigarette and he put it out put it in his pocket he did that all day all day it became obvious that he was
00:34:55
protecting from leaving any evidence at that point we were like man this is crazy he's Keen he's Savvy he knows what
00:35:07
DNA is all about we were like you know there's probably no way that we're
00:35:12
getting this guy's DNA although Robert was so careful not to leave his DNA when the investigators
00:35:22
are following him and keeping an eye on him he has this habit of repeatedly spit
00:35:31
on the third day he smoked a cigarette did his cigarette routine but as soon as he got done
00:35:38
smoking he did the one thing that none of us expected and to this day I'm not
00:35:43
even sure if he realized he did it he spit on the ground seven [Music] times this is the moment eastn police
00:35:54
have been waiting for they may never get another chance and one of the surano teams was
00:36:01
able to see where he spit so that after Robert dny left that area they're able
00:36:05
to go right to that area and without any doubt see it's still on on the pavement
00:36:11
and was able to collect it it was his spit it was no one else's spit there's
00:36:17
no chance of um cross-contamination that was an unbelievable point in the investigation
00:36:24
a huge break for us was a huge win you know for us to be able to you know obtain that
00:36:31
sample and uh they sent it off to the lab and we're waiting I'm waiting I'm
00:36:39
waiting finally the DNA results come back that Slava matched with the DNA that was recovered at the crime scene of
00:36:50
Jacksonville and that was the touchdown everybody wanted the whole team was very
00:36:55
excited KD call me and said we got a positive hit when you come wow it's not that
00:37:04
simple what do you mean it's not that simple we got a DNA head on this guy he's your
00:37:18
killer Jacksonville Beach Florida two years after her murder Justice for Corey Parker seems Within Reach the beautiful
00:37:28
young woman stabbed 101 times in her own apartment but now police have a DNA match from the murder scene to a man
00:37:39
named Robert Denny police believe the match guarantees an indictment but of course there's a hitch the state
00:37:48
prosecutor decided that she didn't want to charge him yet because he could explain that DNA away the detectives
00:37:57
need to establish that Robert Denny was not in Corey's apartment at any point
00:38:03
prior to her murder you know because he could say Hey you know Cory and I were friends and I
00:38:09
went over and we watch TV together or something so we needed that denial that he was ever in the
00:38:16
apartment the detective they have to get him to say that he was never in that apartment Jacksonville detectives
00:38:25
returned to Maryland to work on a plan with Easton police detective Katie Kingston will wear a wire and talk to
00:38:33
Robert Denny they believed that Robert Denny felt very overconfident with women so
00:38:42
Katie decided to go up there and play clueless she walks up to the house knocks on the door he answers you know
00:38:50
she goes through the whole introduction of hey I'm Katie Kingston I'm a detective from Jacksonville I'm working
00:38:54
on this this homicide that happened down there and you know goes into you know I've been sent up here to to do a
00:39:01
followup on the case you know and I wanted to reach out did you ever live in jackonville you know that kind of thing
00:39:08
I'm sitting about a block away listening on The Wire she put up such a good act uh you know how you have a script
00:39:18
and in this script you'll have Direction well in her case her script said do you
00:39:25
know Cory Parker show him pictur and she literally said do you know Cory Parker show him picture do you know Cory
00:39:34
Parker or ever talk to her show picture that's Cory Parker yeah so she asked him several questions did you know
00:39:45
Cory Parker no I've seen her but I don't know her did you ever drive to her apartment
00:39:52
you never went to her apartment no and she walked off and I'm just rolled cuz now we got
00:39:59
them so she came back we high-fived we went back she called the state's attorney I start typing out a search
00:40:07
warrant to actually go into the house and snatch him you're listen to that wire and you hear that Deni that's you
00:40:14
know that's huge you know you're on track once that DNA matches DNA is your DNA it's no one
00:40:26
else's the State's Attorney was happy with what she got issued the arrest
00:40:31
warrant so we walked up locked on the door he opened the door search warant you're under
00:40:38
arrest and as I'm reading this to him you could start seeing the light bulb going off in his head but he thinks that
00:40:46
he pulled the wo over her eyes and that was his downfall that's when we got him
00:40:53
his DNA it it was great it was great I have enough physical evidence um to charge you with
00:41:09
another of cor and I am going to charge you with the mother or father what Happ you that
00:41:19
is wo I didn't do this I didn't murder anybody you can't have any evidence if
00:41:27
is possible because I didn't do I can't admit I he started right away saying you
00:41:34
got the wrong person I just want you to tell me the truth okay telling me you can not
00:41:44
have anything me I look your eyes I didn't you s Robert Denny goes to trial 2005 in court the prosecution describes
00:42:12
in detail the gruesome murder scene I found out what happened to her and [Music]
00:42:29
sorry seeing you know what he did to her we stopped Corey 101 times and the way he kind of posed her a certain
00:42:39
way I almost feel that was cuz he wanted her boyfriend to find her like that or something you know just gross evil
00:42:50
nasty um we often you know say rest in peace peace but there's no doubt in my mind
00:42:59
she did not leave in peace this wasn't a peaceful way to depart this world I've seen some evil people do some
00:43:11
terrible things and this is this is a prime example that's an evil person Miss Cory I didn't kill Cory
00:43:19
Parker how did your forcibly removed hair get on her bloody rolled up underwear next to her father
00:43:27
I don't know the trial was week long when defense rested jury went into deliberation and 20 minutes later came
00:43:35
out with a full guilty verdict we the jury find a defendant guilty of murder in the first degree as charged in the
00:43:42
indictment we the jury further find that the killing was done with premeditation
00:43:46
Robert Denny was convicted of first-degree murder sentenced to life of no Patrol it's it's a big win it's huge
00:43:53
and it's a a good sense of accomplishment when you when you're able to do that
00:43:58
it was a huge relief for many reasons he's off the street now can never hurt somebody cuz I think he would
00:44:06
have he's that kind of evil doesn't just go away Robert Denny is just a 17-year-old
00:44:18
minor when he murders Corey Parker and therefore he avoids the death penalty the Thanksgiving season although it's a
00:44:29
time to spend with your family and loved ones this can add a lot of stress to a person somebody that is mentally fragile
00:44:38
already this could be the thing that sort of pushes them over that edge this type of
00:44:44
tragedy should never have happened for it to happen on a holiday Tain that holiday for that
00:44:54
family forever you know they're not going to remember Thanksgiving as a day of
00:45:05
joy you they're going to remember Thanksgiving is the day that Corey died with each passing season Amy Laden
00:45:17
and Corey's family can look back on Cory Parker's life with love and gratitude
00:45:24
for the time they had with her I have great memories of her you know she taught me a
00:45:31
[Music] lot our last Thanksgiving together is very special to me and I'll never forget
00:45:38
it that's for sure we had wonderful friends we were hanging out with and I'll cherish that moment for the rest of
00:45:45
my life a beautiful and vibrant young woman so loved by family and friends now the victim of a truly sens
00:45:57
less and brutal murder still Cory Parker's love of Life fuels a memory of her a memory that will never go away a
00:46:10
memory that will never fade I'm iy Grace thank you for joining us here on the Christmas killings
00:46:23
[Music] [Music]

Badges

This episode stands out for the following:

  • 90
    Most shocking
  • 85
    Most heartbreaking
  • 80
    Most dramatic
  • 80
    Most intense

Episode Highlights

  • A Disturbing Discovery
    A coworker's obsession with Cory raises suspicions during the investigation.
    “Eric was infatuated with her, almost obsessed.”
    @ 00m 57s
    April 29, 2025
  • The Thanksgiving Murder
    In 1998, Corey Parker's life was tragically cut short just before Thanksgiving.
    “Cory was stabbed 101 times.”
    @ 01m 07s
    April 29, 2025
  • The Search for Answers
    Detectives are on the hunt for clues in a brutal murder case.
    “Detectives are hoping blood and hair samples will lead them to a DNA match.”
    @ 06m 26s
    April 29, 2025
  • DNA Match Found
    Police discover a DNA match linking Robert Denny to the murder of Corey Parker.
    “Justice for Corey Parker seems within reach.”
    @ 37m 24s
    April 29, 2025
  • Trial Verdict
    Robert Denny is found guilty of first-degree murder after a week-long trial.
    “We the jury find the defendant guilty of murder in the first degree.”
    @ 43m 38s
    April 29, 2025
  • A Family's Grief
    Corey Parker's family reflects on their loss during the Thanksgiving season.
    “They’re going to remember Thanksgiving as the day that Corey died.”
    @ 45m 08s
    April 29, 2025

Episode Quotes

  • Cory was stabbed 101 times.
    The Tragic Murder of Corey Parker | The Christmas Killings hosted by Nancy Grace
  • Detectives are hoping blood and hair samples will lead them to a DNA match.
    The Tragic Murder of Corey Parker | The Christmas Killings hosted by Nancy Grace
  • She was beautiful physically and inside.
    The Tragic Murder of Corey Parker | The Christmas Killings hosted by Nancy Grace
  • Who killed Cory?
    The Tragic Murder of Corey Parker | The Christmas Killings hosted by Nancy Grace
  • Justice for Corey Parker seems within reach.
    The Tragic Murder of Corey Parker | The Christmas Killings hosted by Nancy Grace
  • This wasn’t a peaceful way to depart this world.
    The Tragic Murder of Corey Parker | The Christmas Killings hosted by Nancy Grace

Key Moments

  • Friendsgiving Plans00:11
  • Police Investigation00:29
  • Brutal Crime Scene04:10
  • Murder Investigation28:30
  • DNA Collection Ruse29:10
  • Surveillance Operation33:20
  • Trial and Verdict42:08
  • Family Remembrance45:13

Tension Over Time

Words per Minute Over Time

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