Hold My Sweet Tea
Where True Crime collides with chilling ghost stories and Southern folklore. Join us, sip sweet tea, and uncover shocking tales of murder, mystery, and the supernatural, all with a healthy dose of Southern charm and a touch of sass!
Hold My Sweet Tea
Ep. 13-Deadly Coincidences: A Tale of Two Murdered Husbands
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Two murders 13 years apart share one common denominator: Lois Jane Parks Milstein. We explore the unsolved 1993 murder of private investigator Jerry Parks and the brutal 2006 slaying of his widow's second husband, Dr. David Millstein.
• Jerry Parks was found shot to death in his car in West Little Rock, with evidence suggesting he knew his killer
• Despite Jerry's daughter's persistent inquiries, police have released limited information about the still-unsolved case
• 13 years later, Dr. David Millstein was found with 42 stab wounds and his throat slit in his Baxter County home
• Jerry's son Gary Wayne Parks was convicted of murdering his stepfather Milstein, receiving a 30-year sentence
• Investigators suspect Lois Jane convinced her son to kill Millstein and then learns he changed his life insurance beneficiaries
• Gary never provided promised information about a co-conspirator but was still granted parole in 2024 in line with his plea deal
• Suspicions remain that Gary and Lois were also involved in Jerry's death, though Lois passed away in 2018
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Source Material:
KATV Channel 7, July 2, 2013, Unsolved LR murder 20 years later, www.katv.com/archive/unsolved-lr-murder-20-years-later
KTLO, Sept. 3, 2024, One of the highest profile convicted murderers in Mountain Home history is paroled, www.ktlo.com/2024/09/03/one-of-the-highest-profile-convicted-murderers-in-mountain-home-history-has-been-paroled/
Photo Credit:
Dr. David Millstein, Bulletin File
Jerry Parks, Family photo
Two Connected Murders, Thirteen Years Apart
Speaker 1Two murders 13 years apart. One case has a killer behind bars, while the other remains unsolved. Today, this is Hold my Sweet Tea.
Speaker 2Hello governor.
Speaker 1This is Holly and I'm Pearl, he told me not to talk about him.
Speaker 2Uh-oh, and I know who you're talking about.
Speaker 1Yeah, we gonna talk about him. Anyway. This is the quickie-quickie remix, because we're recording this episode over.
Speaker 2Yeah, I gonna talk about them. Anyway, this is the quicky-quicky remix, because we're recording this episode over.
Speaker 1Yeah, I was unhappy with it.
Speaker 2So we are Take two, but my brother, who shall remain nameless Voldemort oh, that's a good name for him, soemort. Voldemort, that's a good name for him.
Speaker 1so my brother, Voldemort doesn't want us to talk about him on the podcast because he said I don't want to be famous yes, he does.
Speaker 2Deep down inside his Capricornist just wants to be.
Speaker 1I literally told him over the phone when he was telling me that I he's like I don't want to be famous. I said, yeah, you're not going to be famous. I didn't even say your name, right? I said nobody knows who you are. And he's in the truck with one of his co-workers and that dude comes out and he goes. I know exactly who it was the minute you said chicken houses. So he's like.
Speaker 1I knew it was chicken voldemort chicken voldemort so here we are to talk about you I do appreciate him, though, because my he has never listened to a single podcast in his entire life, and when we started doing this, he started listening to ours and he will literally call me and be like is it midnight yet? Oh, he's ready, he's ready and he's like your podcast has made me want to listen to other podcasts. That's awesome. So I thought that was nice of him, and he's always there to like give good feedback if something sounds a little weird or anything else, so he'll be like hey, fix that. But then he also likes to call and like completely rag us out yeah, he likes to pick on me too.
Speaker 1A lot, a lot yeah, he's always like tell holly she doesn't have fans I at least have one or two. I said that's not true because we're each other's fan. That's right. Like I'm a fan holly, holly's fan of me. So you know that's all we need. But obviously he's a fan of Holly, holly's a fan of me. So you know that's all we need, but obviously he's a fan.
Speaker 2That's right, we have a fan. We have a fan. My brother is a fan, he's also a little bit of a pain in the behind.
Speaker 1Oh well, that's natural, he's a brother.
Speaker 2He's going to be calling about that.
Speaker 1Yep, we'll get a phone call for this one too, when it releases.
Speaker 2He'll be like what'd I tell you that's hilarious, and then it'll be.
Speaker 1Why'd you call me Voldemort? I was like, well, you want me to use your real name? Make up my mind here. You want to be famous or not?
Speaker 2Right.
Speaker 1I mean famous to the what 120 people now maybe. Yeah maybe that listen.
Speaker 2And we appreciate all of you 120. We really, really do.
Speaker 1I mean honestly that sounds like a lot to me when I started out saying that we were only going to have three listeners, right, so we've grown, we've grown and it's almost, you know, getting close to our monthiversary.
Speaker 2Yeah, almost. We're right there, it'll be this coming friday march, which this episode will be released after that.
Speaker 1But like, yeah, you know but that's, that's the the name of the game. We try to stay ahead of everything. So, yep, this is how we make sure that when there's a holiday and we're pretending like we're hanging out with family and we're really just sleeping yes, taking naps.
Speaker 2Especially with daylight savings time. Oh my God, yesterday was the first Monday after daylight savings time. I was not having it. Yeah, it was a gross day it was. I was brain fogged, irritated, just sleepy all day.
Speaker 1Yeah, it was big time malfunction day.
Speaker 2Yep, and, like you said this morning, you have to go to Vegas, and that's going to mess with all of that too, because then you're going to be two hours behind in Vegas, so that's crazy stuff.
Speaker 1Yeah, I time travel the end of next week, yep, so hopefully I can feel a little bit more normal before we get there, because it'll really do a doozy on me. You're going to be jet lagged for two hours.
Speaker 2For two hours. Look that two hours is a lot. That's right. That's two hours of sleep that you could, you know.
Speaker 1I mean I'm going backwards two hours, but it's just the coming back like just it's just jostling, because then my day is like two hours longer, yeah. So I'm like, I'm like trying to go to bed at seven, which would actually be nine if I were at home.
Speaker 2right then you start thinking about it and you're like well, if, if, I get this many hours, but I'm actually getting this many hours. Yeah, it becomes that. That's me every night. Yeah, I have to calculate.
Speaker 1And I can tell when I'm going to have a really tired, gross day, because I don't wake up before my alarm clock goes off. So today was one of those days. Yeah, I slept right to the ding.
Speaker 2If any of you had any you know experiences with Daylight Savings this past one, let us know. Email us or send us a message or like comment on this new episode. And let us know because we would like to hear your stories.
Speaker 1Yeah, we'll talk about how much everyone else loved Daylight Savings.
Jerry Parks: The First Murder
Speaker 2Then I was like just leave it right here, just leave it, don't change it again, just leave it Right, stop it. You're killing me. So what you got for us today?
Speaker 1Today we're going to talk about the murders with an S of Lutheruther, gerald parks, who we are going to call jerry, okay, and dr david milstein, you said that so sinister, milstein wait. The second time I said it I kind of of felt like Jim Carrey and the Grinch.
Speaker 1You did sound like that. I twisted my chin a little weird, all right. So from a KATV Channel 7 news broadcast on September 26, 1993, they reported that shortly before 7 on a Sunday night, police found the bullet-riddled body of a middle-aged Roland man lying outside of his car at the intersection of what I can only guess is pronounced Chenal Parkway and Highway 10 in West Little Rock.
Speaker 2Wow, arkansas.
Speaker 1Little Rock. Oh wow, Arkansas.
Speaker 2Little Rock is Arkansas for the proper people, yes.
Speaker 1It is active.
Speaker 2Yeah, I just did like we just released my Arkansas one. Yeah, Arkansas.
Speaker 1Your Arkansas one. Denise Hickman, jerry's daughter, recalls getting a phone call from her father's widow. She first stated that Denise's father had been hurt and then, when Denise asked what had happened to her dad, she then changed it to oh he's dead. Wow, just so bluntly, huh, yeah, yeah, pretty much he's actually dead. Sorry my mistake. He's not just hurt, he's d-e-d. Right, I know I didn't spell that, right, I did Just go with it Dead. So yeah, I for me, I'm sitting here going. How do you, how do you call someone and say they're hurt? I guess Does that show that you're nervous about having to tell them, maybe, but or is?
Speaker 2it suspicious Depends on how this story goes.
Speaker 1So we'll see, we'll see, we'll see, we'll see, we'll see. It's reported that someone in a white chevy pulled up to jerry parks's vehicle and opened fire. There were approximately 10 shots fired, based on the evidence found at the scene and explained by doc holiday in 1993. Doc Holliday is a spokesperson for the Little Rock PD, not a dentist in Tombstone.
Speaker 2Okay, I was like, are we going back in time here? What are we?
Speaker 1doing. Yeah, I do not believe that there is anyone named Wyatt Earp at the Little Rock PD. Maybe, but you never know. Maybe that's their first and middle name and they got some different last name, I don't know. But yeah, doc, holliday spelled with two L's. Oh okay, I don't know if that makes any difference, but it just means he's extra festive. Right which holiday Halloween.
Speaker 2Yeah, that's the one you picked Doc.
Speaker 1So Jerry Parks was a private investigator and he owned his own security company. His daughter stated to News 7, quote I don't know what to believe. It was years later before I started having my own thought of who did it and why it was done. Who did it and why it was done. So here I want to note that he was actually shot through the car door. Obviously he had like three bullet wounds to his person. Oh, wow so the rest of it was just.
Speaker 2Absorbed somewhere or deflected? Yeah.
Speaker 1I watched an episode covering this on Investigation Discovery. In that show they talked about how he had a firearm in his car, in the door of his car. I mean, he's a private investigator, owns his own security company, he obviously carries, owns his own security company, he obviously carries. So he has this gun in his door but never there's like no evidence that he ever even tried to reach for it. So thoughts of some of these investigators is that he must have known who was shooting at him and didn't feel threatened by this person initially and was surprised.
Speaker 2Right, that's what I was thinking. That was somebody that he recognized or knew, right.
Speaker 1And so I think that's just one of the clues to who you should be suspecting and who you shouldn't. Right, there's a plethora of search results that will lead you to some theories that jerry's death has something to do with his security company and providing guards in 1992 for the clinton gore campaign headquarters in little rock.
Conspiracy Theories and Limited Information
Speaker 2so he did, he did actual security detail, not like a security, like home security company right that's like yeah, he's yeah pi and like okay, protection, got it. Got it like not not adt, right, he didn't own an adt thing he did.
Speaker 1Yeah, so he actually bodyguard security, yeah, type stuff, okay, personal security stuff, obviously. I mean they they were security for the building itself and not necessarily clinton and gore it was right, because he has his own secret service and everything. So, yeah, they were securing the building so his daughter does not believe any of these theories that are popping out like conspiracy wise saying like that's why, like somebody from the clinton gore campaign, was taking him out because he knew something right somebody always comes up with something like yeah, I mean they're just kind of pulling that out of the air, I guess, because I like the stuff that I've read, doesn't?
Speaker 1there's nothing substantial there that would explain why somebody would send someone after him. Um, the guy that is talking about this in the show, he actually is Jerry Park's friend but also worked with him doing this security detail. He's very much alive. Nobody shot him.
Speaker 2So then that rules that out pretty much.
Speaker 1Yeah, I feel like if you're going to take out one, you're going to take out all the people that actually participated in that detail, but his daughter's, like I don't even know who made this up. Like, where'd this, where'd this spring up from? Nobody, nobody really knows the source of that Correct? While it's easy to look past the conspiracy theories, it is difficult to understand the lack of information In this case. As Hickman explained to Channel 7 that she struggles getting information from the police, she was quoted as saying they do not return my calls, they don't return emails.
Speaker 1I don't know what's going on with the case and I think, as his daughter, I have a right to know what's going on. Obviously it's still in investigation stage, Like it is a cold case because they haven't really had many new leads, but it is still an open investigation. So obviously they're not going to tell you. They're not going to tell anyone. Yes, I guess if they had some like new development that they felt was important to inform her on, they would. But I know it's also got to be frustrating on the other side of that to feel like if you're not telling me anything then nothing's being done.
Speaker 2Exactly that's what I, how I, would feel. I need to know some information, even if it's just a little small piece of information.
Speaker 1Yeah, like the smallest thing, yeah, something that you feel like is insignificant when it comes to trying to figure out who did it.
Speaker 2Mm-hmm.
The Murder of Dr. David Milstein
Speaker 1So 13 years after the death of Jerry Parks, his widow's second husband, david Milstein, is murdered. Oh yeah, he's actually found stabbed to death in his Baxter County home.
Speaker 2Huh yeah, he's actually found stabbed to death in his Baxter County home. Huh, yep so.
Speaker 1So she gets remarried.
Speaker 2Yeah, so one husband gets shot.
Speaker 1The other one gets stabbed.
Speaker 2Yeah, this is giving you know. Debbie and fester from the adams family vibes here black widow baby yeah yeah, I, I'm with you on that.
Speaker 1It's like pretty sus that you have two murdered husbands, and like in the span of 13 years. Yeah, so in june of 2006, asleep in his bed over the father's day weekend, dr milstein, a urologist, was stabbed to death. Fast forward seven years, like literally. These cases are dragging dragging out forever but fast forward seven years.
Speaker 1his stepson, gary Wayne Parks, who is the son of Jerry, the last husband that died Okay, would be convicted of capital murder and was sentenced to 30 years in prison with a plea deal that suspended 10 of those years. For killing the doctor oh, for killing the doctor, oh. He was eligible for parole in the summer of 2024 and was granted release by the parole board on july 29th 2024, so he just got out this middle of last year. For stabbing his stepdad, his deal was contingent on, obviously, his guilty plea to this, as well as giving information for someone who was also involved.
Speaker 2So a co-conspirator, like give us the information, we'll lessen your sentence, type thing. Okay, however, he never did. Oh, so he's protecting someone Absolutely.
Speaker 1And I just think it's a little janky that he still gets to get out 10 years early.
Speaker 2Yeah, but without giving up the information of the other person.
Speaker 1Yeah, never held up his end of the deal, but he still got his. You know like they still let him get out so what kind of uh, what kind of? Relationship did him and his mother have like? Was it some issues with Gary during the times that these things happened? As a matter of fact, Lois Jane, which is the mother, was living with her son when the doctor was murdered. Huh.
Speaker 2So they probably split up because of him or some issue he was having with him, and you know.
Speaker 1Right, I had some argument and I'm siding with my son.
Speaker 2Right.
Speaker 1Naturally, I feel like that's a mom thing yeah it's a mom thing.
Speaker 2But then there's certain situations where you need to correct your kid and be like, hey, no, we're taking a little too far. But right now there's two men dead and they both had issues, and one of them was his actual father.
Speaker 1His actual father. Yeah, yep, wow, yep. So not a lot in the case of the doctor was released, much the same as what's going on with Jerry Parks. However, during the trial, information came out disclosing that the doctor was stabbed six times in the chest, where he was stabbed an additional 36 times in the back and then had his throat slit.
Speaker 2That sounds like a rage murder.
Speaker 1Yeah, wow.
Speaker 2Yeah, definitely, more than likely the six times. And then he got a chance to maybe fight and roll off the bed.
Gary Wayne Parks' Conviction and Release
Speaker 1That's what I was about to say I don't know that transitions is a great word. Yeah, I was going to say Because it's like you know, I don't even know that he got to struggle back, any more than maybe it was just him in that rage getting thrown off the bed.
Speaker 2Mm-hmm, or trying to get up, and then bam on his face or something. And then whoever was stabbing him, gary, um apparently. I mean, he's the one convicted of it, so he and then he started, you know, stab him in the back out of pure rage.
Speaker 1Yeah, and just continued to let it out. He was unleashing all his fury, it seems, yikes, yeah. So Kevin Barnes, a detective at the time of the murder, has like since retired, but he spent a quarter of his 30 years working on this case. There was an attempt to burn the house down, but that was also unsuccessful, and Barnes believes that the murder of the doctor was money motivated.
Speaker 2Oh yeah, more than likely, because I mean they would get money and then be able to move on with their life and he's dead.
Speaker 1Right. And so he had a life insurance policy Mm-hmm. A pretty large one that was initially going to be all his wife's yeah, if he passed. But prior to this happening he actually went and changed his beneficiaries, so she only got a portion, and then his other children got the remaining.
Speaker 2I bet she was mad.
Speaker 1Yeah, and Barnes also states that investigators believe that it was Lois Jane, who lived, like I said, with her son Gary at the time, that convinced her son to murder the doctor.
Speaker 2So his own father like oh no, the other one no.
Speaker 1Yeah, so this is his stepdad.
Speaker 2Yeah, his stepdad.
Speaker 1They're saying, his mom, Lois Jane, who was married to both of these men, convinced her son, Gary, to murder the doctor his stepdaddad.
Speaker 2I could see that happening. Yeah, especially the whole mama's boy thing where he's he'll do anything. That mother says pretty much right.
Speaker 1Yeah, mommy dearest, yeah, wire coat hangers yeah, no more wire hangers my thing is like obviously mommy meant more to him than he meant to her. Because how could you do that? Right, yeah, like it's bad enough you're you're trying to kill off your husbands, but to convince your own child to do it to do it for you. So you're free, and clear and you're like playing on his love for you, literally yeah, using his own affection for his mom against him, basically.
Speaker 2That's some mental disorder right there. Weaponizing love Exactly.
Speaker 1I'm just like you're. No, that's a shitty mom.
Speaker 2Very much so.
Speaker 1Like you're no.
Speaker 2Oh my. God, if that's what happened if, yeah, if that's what I'm, yeah, but I'm pretty sure that it just yeah, I mean it's it's very coincidental, right too?
Speaker 1much coincidence at that point. So I feel like it's it's suspected that there's a good possibility that maybe Gary and Lois had something to do with Jerry's death, which, again, now you're a parent weaponizing your child against his other parent. Yes, if that's what happened, if Gary also killed his own dad, like at the behest of his mom.
Speaker 2Which would make sense of the car pulling up and he's like, hey, that's my son, pow pow, pow, pow pow. And he didn't even have time to grab his gun.
Speaker 1No, thought, yeah, exactly. I mean that would be definitely someone on the radar for that. So while we still don't know, there's hope. I mean there was some new information I think, uncovered during the investigation discovery episode. It's called my Murder Story, so during their episode there was some stuff that his daughter and his PI friend had kind of come across and so they were calling to share that info at the end of the episode.
Speaker 2So hopefully this will be another one where I have Google alerted you and your Google alerts.
Speaker 1And hopefully we'll have something from that soon. That'd be cool. I love google alerting the ones that have been like more recently updated, because those I feel like are ones we'll be able to come back to, the ones that have been a while. It's unfortunate, but I'm not as hopeful.
The Black Widow Mystery Continues
Speaker 1Yes, to get an alert from those, but you know this will be one and the chandra may yes for sure so hopefully one or one of the two, but um lois has never been charged, but has always been a suspect to be involved in both of these murders and is also been referred to as a black widow, black widow baby. But Lois Jane passed away on May 11th 2018, in the comfort of her own home, at the age of 65. So, at this point, gary friend, if your mama did, yeah, just come out with it. Because now, if your mama convinced you to do those bad things to the doctor the one you've already been convicted for Nothing else can come of that Right, go ahead and share that information, like you said you were gonna, exactly, you know, or if it was somebody else, just just go on. Just go ahead and do it, yeah, at this point.
Speaker 2It always comes back to the mommy issues. You know, I don't know. I mean just seems that way. We talk about that a lot, because it always Abusive mom or whatever Neglectful mom.
Speaker 1She seemed like totally doting mom, who then would have just used that to her advantage.
Speaker 2She was the helicopter mom, if you love me If you love me if you love mother, you will do this for me, right?
Speaker 1ew ew yeah, mommy dearest and I'm over here just like. Don't lie to me, right? Take care of yourself, be careful, don't be a hoe. That's my advice to my children. Don't be a hoe, stay, safe, stay safe in all aspects.
Speaker 2Right, I don't want to be a grandmother.
Speaker 1Right, I'm too young to be a grandmother. No, but literally I'm glad I had my kids young, but because I'm not I'm not saying like teenage young, but like early 20s young because it's been, it's been nice to feel like I can still do something, yeah, so I mean my. I think a lot of people would be like, oh well, then why are you worried about being a young grandmother? Because then you can still at least play with the baby. Yeah.
Speaker 2No.
Speaker 1I want to be like oh, this baby makes my arm hurt.
Speaker 2Here, take your baby, take your baby back.
Speaker 1I don't want to go play Grandma's too old for the floor. That's what I want. That's what.
Speaker 2I want.
Speaker 1Yeah.
Speaker 2Yeah, that was a good one. Hopefully you'll get some updates on that one soon enough and we can let you know.
Speaker 1Yeah, for sure I'm going to keep my eyes open. Yeah.
Speaker 2Eyes open and ears peeled. Right, yeah, that's it. How do you?
Speaker 1peel your ears, Girl. That's the first thing that sunburns on me, so easy enough. You're like eww, flaky skin. I just spend 30 minutes in the sun and there you have it.
Speaker 2My ears are peeling. You look like a boston lobster. No, that was british. I need your dad here to insert that, since he's a bostonian.
Speaker 1Yeah, so next our first guest. My just to do his accent, right.
Speaker 2Where's my khakis, your khakis? You sounded like Arnold Schwarzenegger. Get to the chopper. Oh gosh, this is going to be a fun day. Right, we'll be back, just like the Terminator.
Speaker 1Which I feel like my monogramming machine that I have back there with all the metal. Yeah, should have been named something Terminator.
Speaker 2Right, we should have yeah.
Speaker 1I messed that one up, yeah, so bad. It's Batman instead. Well, bruce Wayne, bruce Wayne, yeah, all righty. So we hope you enjoyed this episode. I did, and we appreciate you joining us on Hold my Sweet Tea and hope you continue to join us. All sources used to create this episode can be found in the show notes. Our theme music was created by patty salzetta. If you enjoyed this episode, like truly enjoyed it, please subscribe and leave us a review. You can follow us on all the social medias, all of them. Well, not x, yeah, we don't like it, but anyway, we're not. We're not on x or twitter, whatever. We're not on X or Twitter, whatever.
Speaker 2But we're on.
Speaker 1Facebook, instagram, tiktok, youtube Also, you can visit our website. So if you've never listened to a podcast, much like my brother and you're like you're- like where do I I don't know where to listen to this Go to HoldMySweetTeacom and there's a whole list on the side. There's so many places. There's a whole list on the side. No-transcript.
Speaker 2Yes, so let us invade your ears and manipulate your soul. I'm so dark and weird. Anyway, you know, just listen to us everywhere, like Pearl said, and follow us everywhere. Yes, and follow us everywhere. Hold, my Sweet Tea is a Drunken Bee production and we hope that you guys stay safe out there. And just because we're dipping doesn't mean you can't keep sipping. Bye, thank you you.