Tina Tucker said Monday she was able to find “some solace” knowing she had the opportunity to tell her husband she loved him one last time before he was fatally shot a few hours later.
“This is a tragic death that should have never happened,” she told 76-year-old Edmund Parson.
Parson, of Redstone Township, pleaded no contest to first-degree murder and was sentenced to life in prison on Monday for fatally shooting James Tucker, 75, on May 24, 2024.
“He truly loved you, and when he got the call that you were acting irrational, he immediately came over to try to calm you down. Who knew that it would be that last time we would see him alive,” Tina Tucker said in court.
No reason for the shooting was given during the plea hearing; however, at Parson’s preliminary hearing in October, his brother-in-law, Ronald Woods, testified he saw no provocation before Parson shot Tucker.
Parson’s attorney, Thomas Shaffer, said that his client’s health – including high blood pressure, COPD, diabetes and emphysema – played a key factor in the decision to plead no contest to first-degree murder. Shaffer told Judge Nancy D. Vernon the plea was “the best option he would have today because of his health condition.”
Before she accepted the plea, Vernon asked Shaffer if he and Parson had discussed medical and mental evaluations to determine if he was competent when he shot Tucker. Shaffer told her they’d discussed it for the last two months.
Vernon said Parson would need to have a specific intent to kill to plead to first-degree murder.
“If the defendant is laboring under a mental or physical condition that would negate the specific intent to kill, then there could be other options available,” Vernon said.
Parson, who was brought in with a wheelchair and a bottle of oxygen, told the judge he understood that he was entering a no contest plea to first-degree murder.
In a victim impact statement, Tammy Tucker, daughter of James Tucker, said she and her father had a relationship filled with love, laughter and admiration.
“I’m always going to be daddy’s little girl. He was my safe place,” she said.
None of the nearly dozen supporters of Parson spoke. Parson also declined to give a statement.
After the sentencing, Shaffer said his compassion goes out to both of the families involved.
“The defendant suffered from a mental infirmity that was the approximate cause of the incident. Due to this I personally hate the sin, but not the sinner, for the defendant’s apparent temporary illnesses,” Shaffer said, noting all parties involved agreed with the plea.
District Attorney Micheal Aubele said while the circumstances of the shooting were unusual, his office had not been made aware that Parson suffered from any mental health condition.
“This (plea) allows the family not to have to go through the agony of a jury trial while also giving (Parson) the max penalty,” he said.
