Bertha R. Parker was a woman whose partial remains were found in the Indian River Lagoon near Grant Farm Island, Florida in 1992.
Case[]
In 1992, Bertha Parker moved to Melbourne, Florida to live with her son, James, following Hurricane Andrew. According to neighbors and his landlord, James expressed his dislike of caring for his mother and would often leave her home alone for long periods of time. At some point in late 1992, neighbors stopped seeing Bertha in the area, which James explained by stating that she had moved away. However, Bertha's mail continued to be sent to James' home, even after he moved. That December, a joint account shared by James and Bertha was set up to receive Social Security checks. The following month, James bought a nearby plot of land and built a house where would live for the next 14 years.
On December 24, 1992, the dismembered remains of an elderly woman were discovered south of Grant Farm Island in the Indian River Lagoon. Due to the state of the body, authorities were unable to identify the victim and eventually closed the case.
During his time in Melbourne, James had several run-ins with the law and was considered "a nuisance" by his neighbors. Over the next decade, James was charged with multiple crimes including theft, battery, stalking, and aggravated assault. In 2007, a group of Melbourne residents held a meeting to raise their concerns about James to the sheriff and county commissioner. In response to the concern about Bertha's whereabouts, investigators began to review the case of the unidentified woman from 1992. When authorities talked to James, he was unable to provide an explanation as to where his mother was but admitted using her Social Security checks for himself. Soon afterward, a DNA sample collected from James proved that the unidentified woman found in 1992 was his mother.
In further interviews, James admitted to disposing of Bertha's body but claimed that she had died of natural causes. He was sentenced to four years in prison for social security fraud but has not faced any further charges.
Sources[]
- Florida Today