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The Disappearance of June Gilkerson · Gone Cold - Texas True Crime

0:01
Speaker 1: Gone Call podcasts may contain violent or graphics subject matter.
0:05
Speaker 1: Listener discretion is advised. Midland, Texas, was built on oil.
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Speaker 1: Originally a railroad stop in the eighteen eighties, it became
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Speaker 1: the seat of Midland County by the turn of the century.
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Speaker 1: Ranching sustained the region for decades until the Permian Basin
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Speaker 1: oil discoveries of the nineteen twenties transformed the city into
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Speaker 1: an administrative and financial center for petroleum operations. By the
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Speaker 1: nineteen eighties, Midland's economy, real estate market, and employee base
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Speaker 1: were inseparable from energy production. The early part of that
0:46
Speaker 1: decade had been prosperous. High oil prices fueled construction and
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Speaker 1: rapid population growth. Big money and blue collar workers who
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Speaker 1: called Midland home reaped the benefits of their city's successes,
1:02
Speaker 1: but the global oil price collapse of nineteen eighty five
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Speaker 1: and nineteen eighty six reversed the trajectory. Layoffs spread through
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Speaker 1: the industry, property values declined, and residents left. In nineteen
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Speaker 1: eighty six, Midland's population hovered around ninety nine thousand. That year,
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Speaker 1: the city reported four thousand, eight hundred and twenty eight
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Speaker 1: index crimes, while property crimes were reflective of the national average.
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Speaker 1: Violent crimes remained comparatively low. One murder, thirty five rapes,
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Speaker 1: fifty four robberies, and three hundred and thirty five aggravated assaults,
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Speaker 1: but a missing Midland woman, one who was strongly believed
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Speaker 1: to have vanished as the result of foul play, didn't
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Speaker 1: make that list. This is the story of the disappearance
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Speaker 1: of June Gilkerson. On Friday, November seventh, nineteen eighty six,
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Speaker 1: a state district judge entered an order releasing twenty year
2:33
Speaker 1: old David Russell Alderinc. From custody and transferring supervision of
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Speaker 1: his probated term to the state of Michigan. Earlier that year,
2:44
Speaker 1: in April, Alderinc. Had been sentenced to ten years probation
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Speaker 1: for burglarizing a house in December nineteen eighty five. As
2:53
Speaker 1: a condition of that probation, he was ordered to spend
2:56
Speaker 1: six months at the Midland County Restitution Center, a halfway
3:01
Speaker 1: house facility. Present at the November seventh hearing were Alderinc,
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Speaker 1: of course, his father, and June Carpenter Gilkerson. June was
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Speaker 1: a volunteer probation worker at the restitution center. She had
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Speaker 1: recently graduated from college and was working without pay to
3:21
Speaker 1: gain required casework experience before obtaining a full time probation
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Speaker 1: officer position. Having volunteered there for several weeks, she was
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Speaker 1: scheduled to begin full time employment at the center on
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Speaker 1: the following Monday, November tenth. After the release order was entered,
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Speaker 1: David Russell Alderink did not depart immediately for Michigan. Instead,
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Speaker 1: he left Midland with a forty year old man named
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Speaker 1: Kenneth Wayne Parker. Parker was employed as a maintenance man
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Speaker 1: and night custodian at the Midland County Library. As part
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Speaker 1: of his probation requirements. Alderink had been assigned to perform
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Speaker 1: community service work at the library, where Parker supervised him.
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Speaker 1: The two men had developed a friendship during that time.
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Speaker 1: Conversations between them frequently centered on selling women into prostitution.
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Speaker 1: Parker told Alderink there was money to be made selling
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Speaker 1: attractive young women into slavery in the Orient or South America,
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Speaker 1: as much as fifteen thousand dollars per sale. Alderink, always
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Speaker 1: looking for a way to make an easy buck, was intrigued,
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Speaker 1: and he told Parker he knew just the woman when
4:42
Speaker 1: she lived in Midland. Susan Lindsay was a reporter for
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Speaker 1: the Midland Reporter Telegram newspaper. Later, she moved to Rockdale
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Speaker 1: with her husband, John Lindsay, an Oilfield roughneck. John and
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Speaker 1: David Russell Alderink were friends, and he'd lived with the
5:00
Speaker 1: couple in Midland while seeking employment. During that period, he
5:05
Speaker 1: passed a stolen check through Susan Lindsay's checking account. When
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Speaker 1: she discovered the forgery and confronted him, he stole her
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Speaker 1: car and fled to Michigan. After his eventual arrest, Lindsay
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Speaker 1: pressed forgery charges and testified against him. That conviction partially
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Speaker 1: resulted in his probation and placement in the restitution center.
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Speaker 1: On the evening of November seventh, Parker and Alderink drove
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Speaker 1: from Midland to Rockdale. Parker was ready. He'd obtained two
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Speaker 1: pistols and handcuffs prior to the trip. After arriving in Rockdale,
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Speaker 1: the men placed a call to Susan Lindsay's residence. Around midnight,
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Speaker 1: they drove to the apartment complex where Lindsay lived with
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Speaker 1: her husband. Numerous units lights were illuminated, and Alderinc and
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Speaker 1: Parker feared being observed by neighbors, they abandoned the plan.
6:06
Speaker 1: From Rockdale, they drove to Austin. Once there, they went
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Speaker 1: to Sixth Street, a popular and busy area of the
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Speaker 1: capital city filled with restaurants and nightclubs. They scoped out
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Speaker 1: the locals looking for a woman to abduct, but found
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Speaker 1: none suitable. The two men then returned to Midland. During
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Speaker 1: the return trip to Playcate, his six foot five inch
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Speaker 1: three hundred and seventy five pound partner in crime, Alderink,
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Speaker 1: suggested abducting his probation caseworker instead. On the morning of Saturday,
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Speaker 1: November eighth, nineteen eighty six, June Carpenter Gilkerson was at
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Speaker 1: home with her husband, Ron Gilkerson. June was twenty four
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Speaker 1: years old. She was from Winston Salem, North Carolina, where
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Speaker 1: her mother and stepfather, Alan and Juanita Willis still resided,
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Speaker 1: and where she had graduated from Reynolds High School. Described
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Speaker 1: as tall five feet eight inches, June weighed around one
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Speaker 1: hundred and twenty pounds. She had brown hair and brown eyes.
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Speaker 1: That morning, she was wearing a white pullover sweatshirt, either
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Speaker 1: red or blue sweatpants, and a gold ring with blue
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Speaker 1: stones flanked by Diamonds. At approximately nine a m. June
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Speaker 1: received a telephone call after she told her husband she
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Speaker 1: needed to go to the Midland Restitution Center to retrieve
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Speaker 1: paperwork concerning a probationer who was being released. That probationer
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Speaker 1: was David Russell Alderink. Ron later stated that his wife
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Speaker 1: left the home shortly after that call. Alderink had telephoned
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Speaker 1: June and asked her to meet him at Fairmont park
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Speaker 1: Lane's Bowling Alley in northwest Midland. He wanted to see her,
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Speaker 1: he said, before he left town to head back to
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Speaker 1: Michigan with his father, Kenneth. Wayne Parker drove Alderink to
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Speaker 1: that location. June arrived in her blue nineteen eighty six
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Speaker 1: Honda Civic shortly thereafter. Alderink entered the passenger side of
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Speaker 1: the vehicle. They drove away from the Bowling Alley. He
8:25
Speaker 1: brought June down a rural road, telling her that he
8:28
Speaker 1: wanted to say goodbye to a friend. At a pre
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Speaker 1: arranged point, Parker passed in his pickup truck. Alderink exited
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Speaker 1: June's vehicle. Parker opened the driver's side door. She didn't
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Speaker 1: stand a chance. The man was huge and remarkably strong.
8:47
Speaker 1: He handcuffed June, taped her eyes and mouth with silver
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Speaker 1: duct tape, placed a sleeping bag over her, lifted her,
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Speaker 1: and put her in the back of his pickup truck.
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Speaker 1: After leaving the rural roadway, David Russell Alderink drove June
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Speaker 1: Gilgerson's Honda to the Best Western Motel, located off Interstate
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Speaker 1: twenty near Rankin Highway, not far from the Midland Restitution Center.
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Speaker 1: Parker instructed Alderink to leave the vehicle at the motel,
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Speaker 1: so he parked in the lot and left the car unlocked,
9:23
Speaker 1: keys still in the Ignition. Motel employees later stated that
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Speaker 1: the Honda had been parked there since approximately ten thirty
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Speaker 1: am that morning. When June did not return home that afternoon,
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Speaker 1: Ron Gilgerson began attempting to locate her. He called the
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Speaker 1: restitution center and was told she hadn't come into work
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Speaker 1: at all. At approximately three point fifteen pm, Ron found
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Speaker 1: June's Honda Civic at the Best Western. Inside, he discovered
9:57
Speaker 1: his wife's purse, shoes, and her work notebook. He also
10:02
Speaker 1: found a two and a half page love letter written
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Speaker 1: to June and penned by David Russell. Alderank. In the letter,
10:10
Speaker 1: Alderank expressed his feelings for June and stated he hoped
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Speaker 1: they could be together. He also wrote that if she
10:18
Speaker 1: chose to remain with her husband, he would always be
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Speaker 1: her friend. June was reported missing that night. Out of
10:26
Speaker 1: embarrassment and shock, Ron would later tell police he did
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Speaker 1: not immediately turn the letter over to them. Lieutenant Ron
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Speaker 1: Aaron of the Midland Police Department confirmed that June had
10:39
Speaker 1: left her home en route to work, but never arrived.
10:43
Speaker 1: Given the condition of the abandoned vehicle, purse, shoes, and
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Speaker 1: the keys left behind, foul play was suspected Immediately. Fingerprints
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Speaker 1: were lifted from the drivers and passengers doors of the Honda,
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Speaker 1: and a nationwide man ing persons alert was issued. By
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Speaker 1: November eleventh, nineteen eighty six, police were actively seeking information
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Speaker 1: regarding the disappearance of twenty four year old probation volunteer
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Speaker 1: June Gilkerson. More than forty law enforcement officers searched Midland
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Speaker 1: for two days. The Texas Department of Public Safety provided
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Speaker 1: a helicopter for aerial searches. Lieutenant Ron Aaron stated that
11:38
Speaker 1: investigators were also utilizing canine units. He acknowledged the scale
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Speaker 1: of the terrain, describing it as such a massive area
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Speaker 1: to cover with no immediate way to narrow it down.
11:53
Speaker 1: Searches concentrated in areas near Interstate twenty and surrounding remote
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Speaker 1: locations whereas might conceal a body. Road crews were alerted
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Speaker 1: to be on the lookout in isolated areas. No physical
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Speaker 1: remains were located during these early efforts, beginning a tragic
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Speaker 1: trend that would continue to haunt the case. Meanwhile, June's
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Speaker 1: mother and stepfather, Alan and Juanita Willis, traveled from Winston Salem,
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Speaker 1: North Carolina, to Midland, Texas. They publicly offered a five
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Speaker 1: thousand dollars reward for information that would help locate their daughter.
12:34
Speaker 1: Missus Willis stated she had spoken to June two days
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Speaker 1: before her disappearance and that everything was normal. June's stepfather
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Speaker 1: confirmed that she had not contacted friends in Midland or
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Speaker 1: North Carolina since November eighth, the day she vanished. The
12:53
Speaker 1: days crept by after twelve. Police escalated search efforts by
12:58
Speaker 1: utilizing infrared camera technology supplied by the company Texas Instruments.
13:05
Speaker 1: Lieutenant Aaron stated that the camera would detect heat signatures,
13:09
Speaker 1: including human body heat several roles of film or shot
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Speaker 1: north and south of the city using the aircraft. By
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Speaker 1: that point, investigators publicly stated that foul play was definitely involved.
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Speaker 1: Despite aerial surveillance and continued ground operations, their efforts provided nothing.
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Speaker 1: By late November, investigators had identified potential suspects. Captain Billy
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Speaker 1: Ray announced that police had developed a suspect based on
13:43
Speaker 1: independent physical evidence linking a person to June's vehicle. The
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Speaker 1: suspect was described as a forty year old Midland man.
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Speaker 1: That man was Kenneth Wayne Parker. Although the department refused
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Speaker 1: to name names, they had spoken with Parker multiple times
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Speaker 1: during the investigation. He of course denied involvement. Another individual
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Speaker 1: under scrutiny was David Russell Alderink, the probationer whose release
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Speaker 1: June had referenced before leaving home. He'd since returned to
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Speaker 1: his home state, Michigan. Midland Police Sergeant Ernest Wakefield later
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Speaker 1: stated that two men were subpoenaed to testify before a
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Speaker 1: grand jury. One was a Midland resident Parker. The other
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Speaker 1: was an out of stater who lived near Grand Rapids
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Speaker 1: but had recently lived in Midland, where he served out
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Speaker 1: his probation for earlier offenses. Alderank. Of course, Wakefield stated
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Speaker 1: that this suspect had no history of violent crime. He
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Speaker 1: had been interviewed several times and had taken multiple polygraph examinations.
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Speaker 1: The law man confirmed that June's car was found at
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Speaker 1: the same hotel where the probationer was staying. As the
15:05
Speaker 1: search efforts expanded outward from Midland into rural terrain, investigators
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Speaker 1: continued processing physical evidence recovered from June Gilkerson's vehicle. A
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Speaker 1: palm print lifted from the roof of the Honda Civic
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Speaker 1: just above the driver's door was analyzed. The print was
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Speaker 1: verified as belonging to Kenneth Wayne Parker, a fact kept
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Speaker 1: from the public. Parker, at the time forty years old,
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Speaker 1: had been interviewed repeatedly by Midland police in the days
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Speaker 1: following the disappearance. He denied even knowing June, but at
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Speaker 1: that point investigators had the physical evidence placing Parker in
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Speaker 1: contact with June's vehicle. They also knew that on November seventh,
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Speaker 1: the day before June vanished, Parker had traveled out of
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Speaker 1: Midland with David Russell Alderink. By now four, nineteen eighty six,
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Speaker 1: police had initiated a covert operation designed to elicit admissions
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Speaker 1: from Parker. Alderink agreed to cooperate. Several detectives participated in
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Speaker 1: planning and monitoring the operation. Alderink was fitted with a
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Speaker 1: concealed body microphone and a hidden electronic surveillance device. He
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Speaker 1: was also given a bulletproof vest. At approximately eight forty
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Speaker 1: PM in the parking lot behind the Midland County Library
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Speaker 1: where Kenneth Wayne Parker worked as a night custodian, Alderink
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Speaker 1: approached him as he drove up to the rear entrance
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Speaker 1: of the darkened building while detectives monitored the transmission. Alderink
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Speaker 1: told Parker they're saying June is still alive somewhere. Parker
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Speaker 1: opened his vehicle door, removed a piece of paper, placed
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Speaker 1: it on the roof of the vehicle, and wrote something.
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Speaker 1: He then allegedly held the paper up toward Alderink and asked,
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Speaker 1: see now, do you understand. Alderink later told investigators that
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Speaker 1: the note read cremated fifteen thousand dollars over done. During
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Speaker 1: the exchange, Parker noticed the bulletproof vest beneath Alderink's clothing
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Speaker 1: and asked, what's this it's a vest man. It's a
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Speaker 1: vest Alderink replied. Audio captured the sound of movement consistent
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Speaker 1: with someone running. The alleged note was not recovered. Later
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Speaker 1: officers located a note on Parker's dashboard containing his address.
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Speaker 1: A videotape of the confrontation was described as dark and
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Speaker 1: difficult to see clearly. On December tenth, nineteen eighty six,
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Speaker 1: Kenneth Wayne Parker testified before a Midland grand jury. During
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Speaker 1: questioning by Assistant District Attorney Ralph Petty, the man provided
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Speaker 1: an alibi for November seventh and eighth. He stated that
18:06
Speaker 1: on November seventh he had traveled to Del Rio and
18:09
Speaker 1: crossed into See You Dad Acunya, Mexico, where he attended
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Speaker 1: a party and employed the company of sex workers. He
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Speaker 1: said he returned to Midland the next morning and went
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Speaker 1: to sleep. That alibi was investigated. Detective John Urbi, a
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Speaker 1: Del Rio native who had previously served as chief of Police,
18:32
Speaker 1: traveled to See You Dad Acunya with Commandante del Pelsia
18:36
Speaker 1: Gustavo Garcia. They visited six Boystown bars in Acunya. They
18:43
Speaker 1: interviewed seven taxi drivers, ten bartenders, fifteen waiters and twenty
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Speaker 1: six sex workers, none recalled seeing Parker. Additionally, Midland investigators
18:57
Speaker 1: located a store clerk in Brady Techs who remembered Parker
19:02
Speaker 1: and Alderink stopping at the store on November seventh. The
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Speaker 1: clerk testified that Parker, described as a giant, had knocked
19:11
Speaker 1: several two liter Coca Cola bottles off a display. A
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Speaker 1: receipt showed Parker paid for the broken bottles. This placed
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Speaker 1: him and Alderink traveling in Texas on November seventh, contradicting
19:25
Speaker 1: Parker's statement that he had been in Mexico that night.
19:29
Speaker 1: According to statements attributed to Parker by Alderink, Parker claimed
19:34
Speaker 1: he took June to a Callichi pit fourteen miles south
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Speaker 1: of Midland and half a mile east of Rankin Highway.
19:42
Speaker 1: Alderink testified that Parker said June fought and ran, and
19:46
Speaker 1: that he shot her twice with a chrome plated three
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Speaker 1: fifty seven magnum revolver before knocking a dirt bank over her.
19:54
Speaker 1: Alderink further stated that Parker later returned to the site,
19:58
Speaker 1: retrieved her body, and burned her in a stack of
20:02
Speaker 1: old tires on a relative's property. Detective B. G. Johnson
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Speaker 1: later testified that he located a chrome plated three fifty
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Speaker 1: seven magnum revolver at a pawn shop on Big Spring Street.
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Speaker 1: The revolver was loaded with two spent shells in the cylinder.
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Speaker 1: Investigators sought permission to search the relative's property where the
20:24
Speaker 1: alleged burning occurred, but were denied entry they did not
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Speaker 1: obtain enough evidence to secure a search warrant. Johnson testified
20:34
Speaker 1: that investigators searched other possible locations, including abandoned houses in
20:39
Speaker 1: Andrews County. Despite these efforts, no remains were recovered. Had
20:46
Speaker 1: Probation Officer Terry Lucke confirmed that at the time of
20:50
Speaker 1: June's disappearance, Alderank had been assigned to the Midland Restitution
20:55
Speaker 1: Center and that June had been volunteering there to gain
20:58
Speaker 1: experience necessary to become a probation officer. Luck stated that
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Speaker 1: June had worked at the center only a few months
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Speaker 1: before the abduction occurred. The grand jury was tasked with
21:12
Speaker 1: determining whether sufficient evidence existed to proceed to trial. They
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Speaker 1: decided it did. On April twenty eighth, nineteen eighty seven,
21:22
Speaker 1: the grand jury returned to an indictment against David Russell
21:26
Speaker 1: Alderank in connection with the November eighth, nineteen eighty six,
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Speaker 1: abduction of June Carpenter Gilkerson. The indictment charged him with
21:35
Speaker 1: aggravated kidnapping. At that time, Alderank was in Michigan. On
21:41
Speaker 1: May fifth, nineteen eighty seven, reports indicated that he, then
21:45
Speaker 1: twenty one years old, remained in the Ottawa County Jail
21:49
Speaker 1: on a sealed grand jury indictment. Midland authorities stated that
21:54
Speaker 1: he had waived extradition and that officers were traveling to
21:58
Speaker 1: Michigan to bring him back to Texas. Authorities also indicated
22:03
Speaker 1: publicly that someone else might be arrested in connection with
22:07
Speaker 1: the case. At this point, the public knew nothing about
22:11
Speaker 1: the details of the grand jury proceedings, including who the
22:15
Speaker 1: suspects were. On May seventh, nineteen eighty seven, David Russell
22:32
Speaker 1: Alderink was returned to Midland and lodged in the county jail.
22:37
Speaker 1: A couple weeks later, in court, he was arraigned on
22:40
Speaker 1: aggravated kidnapping and conspiracy charges in the case of the
22:44
Speaker 1: disappearance of June Carpenter Gilkerson. On June fourteenth, he was
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Speaker 1: released on a twenty thousand dollars bond. On February second,
22:54
Speaker 1: nineteen eighty eight, Alderink appeared before two hundred and thirty
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Speaker 1: eighth District Judge Van Kulp. He pleaded guilty to aggravated kidnapping.
23:05
Speaker 1: Midland District Attorney Al Shore stated that Alderink admitted he
23:09
Speaker 1: was involved in June's kidnapping, but claimed he did not
23:13
Speaker 1: know where she had been taken. Shore said that Alderink
23:17
Speaker 1: was only an accomplice who helped in setting it up.
23:21
Speaker 1: During sentencing, Alderink told the court he helped abduct June,
23:26
Speaker 1: but said that Kenneth Wayne Parker took her to another
23:29
Speaker 1: location supposedly to rape her. He denied knowledge of her death.
23:35
Speaker 1: He was sentenced to twenty years in prison. Alderink's prior
23:40
Speaker 1: ten year probation term for the nineteen eighty five burglary
23:43
Speaker 1: conviction was revoked the same day. As part of his
23:47
Speaker 1: plea agreement he would testify against his co conspirator. On
23:54
Speaker 1: January twenty eighth, nineteen eighty eight, a federal grand jury
23:58
Speaker 1: returned a sealed indictment against Kenneth Wayne Parker. It charged
24:03
Speaker 1: Parker with two counts of conspiracy to kidnap, one involving
24:07
Speaker 1: June Gilkerson, and one involving Susan Lindsay, the woman who
24:12
Speaker 1: Alderank first suggested they take in order to sell her
24:16
Speaker 1: into sex slavery. On February fourth, nineteen eighty eight, Parker
24:22
Speaker 1: was arrested in Mesquite, near Dallas, where he was working
24:25
Speaker 1: at a video store. Assistant US Attorney Tom Berry stated
24:30
Speaker 1: that Parker was being held at the Loosteric Criminal Justice
24:34
Speaker 1: Center in Dallas, and that emotion had been filed to
24:37
Speaker 1: detain him without bail. The indictment alleged that on November seventh,
24:43
Speaker 1: nineteen eighty six, Parker obtained two pistols and handcuffs and
24:48
Speaker 1: traveled with Alderink to Rockdale to abduct Susan Lindsay. It
24:53
Speaker 1: further alleged that Parker bound June Gilkerson and placed her
24:58
Speaker 1: in his pickup and drove away. Parker denied knowing June.
25:03
Speaker 1: He was later transferred to the Midland County Jail, where
25:07
Speaker 1: he was again denied bond. In June nineteen eighty eight,
25:12
Speaker 1: the federal trial of Kenneth Wayne Parker commenced in Midland
25:16
Speaker 1: before US District Judge Lucius Bonton The case was prosecuted
25:21
Speaker 1: by US assistant attorneys Wayne Speck and Tom Berry. Court
25:27
Speaker 1: appointed defense attorney Tom Morgan represented Parker. Over four days
25:32
Speaker 1: of testimony, Approximately fifty witnesses were called. A six man,
25:38
Speaker 1: six woman jury heard the case. The prosecution's primary witness
25:43
Speaker 1: was David Russell Alderink. Alderank testified about meeting Parker at
25:49
Speaker 1: the Midland County Library while performing community service work as
25:54
Speaker 1: a condition of his probation. He stated that Parker frequently
25:58
Speaker 1: discussed selling women into prostitution and claimed to know individuals
26:03
Speaker 1: who could arrange such transactions. Alderink testified that he was
26:09
Speaker 1: motivated by money and expected to receive seventy five hundred
26:13
Speaker 1: dollars out of a fifteen thousand dollars payment for each
26:16
Speaker 1: woman delivered. He said that on November eighth, he telephoned
26:21
Speaker 1: June at approximately eight am, arranged to meet her at
26:26
Speaker 1: Fairmont Park Lanes, and drove her to a rural location.
26:31
Speaker 1: Alderink told the court his version of events, which for
26:35
Speaker 1: the most part, were backed up by other evidence and witnesses.
26:39
Speaker 1: He testified that he returned to Michigan the day after
26:43
Speaker 1: June's abduction and that he never received any payment. Jurors
26:48
Speaker 1: viewed videotapes and listened to conversations between Parker and Alderink.
26:53
Speaker 1: A recorded phone conversation between the two men was also played.
26:58
Speaker 1: During one recorded exchange, Parker told Alderink, you didn't do
27:03
Speaker 1: anything wrong. Other evidence was prime for Parker's defense. In
27:09
Speaker 1: another exchange, Parker said, you know I've never seen June,
27:14
Speaker 1: to which Alderink responded, I know you've never seen her
27:17
Speaker 1: or nothing like that. You're the only alibi I've got.
27:21
Speaker 1: The alleged cremation note was never recovered. Defense counsel would
27:27
Speaker 1: later argue that the note found in Parker's car with
27:29
Speaker 1: his address was actually the note Alderink had referenced during
27:34
Speaker 1: the parking lot encounter. Alderink, by police admission, had lied
27:40
Speaker 1: so many times it was difficult to differentiate fact from fiction.
27:46
Speaker 1: Ron Gilkerson testified about discovering the two and a half
27:50
Speaker 1: page letter from Alderink in June's purse when he located
27:54
Speaker 1: her vehicle. He testified that he initially withheld the letter
27:58
Speaker 1: due to embarrassment. Ron stated that he and June had
28:02
Speaker 1: been married April sixth, nineteen eighty six, and that they
28:06
Speaker 1: were experiencing adjustment problems. He testified that June had told
28:12
Speaker 1: him the night before she disappeared that she intended to
28:15
Speaker 1: leave him and seek a divorce. Others testified that June
28:19
Speaker 1: had spoken to them about her affair with David Russell
28:23
Speaker 1: Alderink and had even raised the possibility that she was
28:27
Speaker 1: pregnant with his child. Defense witnesses included Kenneth Wayne, Parker's father, sister,
28:35
Speaker 1: two nieces, and two nephews. They all testified that Parker
28:40
Speaker 1: returned to his mobile home at around nine am on
28:43
Speaker 1: November eighth, nineteen eighty six. The trailer was located next
28:48
Speaker 1: to his sister's trailer and near his father's home on
28:52
Speaker 1: acreage southeast of Midland. On FM seven fifteen, nephew Roland Morland,
28:59
Speaker 1: a sixth grade teacher at Washington Elementary School, testified that
29:03
Speaker 1: he visited Parker around twelve thirty PM that day and
29:07
Speaker 1: found him still in bed. Sister Joanna Hines testified that
29:12
Speaker 1: she and Parker went to play bingo that evening. Nephew
29:16
Speaker 1: Roger Moreland, a Baptist deacon, described allegations of Dallas mafia
29:22
Speaker 1: connections the human trafficking connections as ridiculous. Witness dag w F.
29:29
Speaker 1: Carter testified that he saw June in Mexico in March
29:33
Speaker 1: nineteen eighty seven in nightclubs in Piedras Negras and c
29:37
Speaker 1: U dad Acunya. Teresa Calderez Muno's testified through an interpreter
29:43
Speaker 1: that women in Mexico were not bought and sold as described.
29:49
Speaker 1: During closing arguments, defense attorney Morgan argued that Alderink changed
29:54
Speaker 1: his story like a ping pong ball. Assistant US Attorney
29:59
Speaker 1: Wayne Speck acknowledged Alderank's lies, but also stated that he
30:04
Speaker 1: had committed one of the most treacherous betrayals since biblical times.
30:09
Speaker 1: During argument, Speck stated, There's been so much garbage thrown
30:14
Speaker 1: at you. Morgan objected and moved for a mistrial, arguing
30:19
Speaker 1: the comment was a personal attack. Judge Button denied the motion.
30:24
Speaker 1: Speck told jurors that the law required only proof of
30:28
Speaker 1: an agreement and an overt act toward the conspiracy. After
30:34
Speaker 1: four days of testimony and approximately two and a half
30:37
Speaker 1: hours of deliberation, the six man, six woman jury returned
30:42
Speaker 1: its verdict shortly before eleven am on June seventeenth, nineteen
30:46
Speaker 1: eighty eight. Kenneth Wayne Parker was found guilty on two
30:50
Speaker 1: counts of conspiracy to kidnap, one involving Susan Lindsay and
30:55
Speaker 1: one involving June Carpenter Gilkerson. Relatives of June who had
31:01
Speaker 1: attended the proceedings embraced one another in the courtroom after
31:05
Speaker 1: the verdict was read. Assistant US Attorney Tom Barry later
31:10
Speaker 1: stated that he was not surprised by the relatively brief
31:14
Speaker 1: deliberation period, describing the government's case as strong. Parker appeared
31:21
Speaker 1: for sentencing. During the hearing, Morgan presented information regarding Parker's background,
31:28
Speaker 1: including his family life, education, military service, and employment record.
31:34
Speaker 1: Parker was a nineteen sixty four graduate of Midland High School.
31:39
Speaker 1: Council referenced Parker's military service in Vietnam and read from
31:44
Speaker 1: Midland County Library employment records describing him as a reliable,
31:49
Speaker 1: industrious employee. Morgan also read letters of support written after
31:55
Speaker 1: the jury's verdict. Two of those letters described occasions when
31:59
Speaker 1: Parker drevet as Santa Claus for the library and for
32:02
Speaker 1: a local church. Morgan requested that the court consider probation
32:07
Speaker 1: on one count, and either probation or a lighter sentence
32:11
Speaker 1: on the second count, Judge Button addressed Parker directly. He
32:17
Speaker 1: stated that he was impressed by the man's war service record, poetry,
32:21
Speaker 1: and the support he had received from family and former
32:25
Speaker 1: co workers. However, Button continued, the jury heard the testimony
32:30
Speaker 1: in this case, and so did I. There's a day
32:33
Speaker 1: and there's a night in your life. The judge sentenced
32:38
Speaker 1: Parker to two consecutive life terms in prison. When given
32:42
Speaker 1: an opportunity to speak, Parker declined, stating that his attorney
32:47
Speaker 1: could speak better on his behalf. Morgan immediately filed a
32:52
Speaker 1: notice of intent to appeal. I will not rest until
32:56
Speaker 1: this conviction is set aside, Morgan stated, identifying denial of
33:00
Speaker 1: a change of venue in the highly publicized case as
33:04
Speaker 1: his first point of error. In nineteen eighty nine, the
33:08
Speaker 1: Fifth US Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans denied
33:12
Speaker 1: Parker's appeal. Parker was initially housed at the Level five
33:17
Speaker 1: security Penitentiary in Leavenworth, Kansas, at seventy nine years old.
33:23
Speaker 1: He is currently incarcerated at fmc butner in North Carolina,
33:29
Speaker 1: ironically just about an hour and a half east of
33:32
Speaker 1: where June was born and raised. Parker's mandatory release date
33:37
Speaker 1: is listed as February twenty forty eight, at which time
33:41
Speaker 1: he would be one hundred and two years old. David
33:45
Speaker 1: Russell Alderink served his sentence for aggravated kidnapping and was
33:49
Speaker 1: later released. After that release, he faced additional charges and
33:54
Speaker 1: convictions over the years, including failure to register as a
33:59
Speaker 1: sex offender, home invasion, burglary of a habitation, and larceny.
34:05
Speaker 1: One of his most recent charges occurred in August twenty
34:08
Speaker 1: twenty five, when he was fifty nine years old. For
34:14
Speaker 1: at least twenty one years, June's mother, Juanita Willis, contacted
34:18
Speaker 1: Detective Johnson each year on the anniversary of her daughter's disappearance,
34:24
Speaker 1: wondering if any new information had arisen. June Carpenter Gilkerson
34:30
Speaker 1: has never been found. If you have any information about
34:36
Speaker 1: the disappearance of June Gilkerson or her whereabouts, please contact
34:41
Speaker 1: the Midland Police Department at four three two six' eighty
34:45
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