1. DADAILYY NEWSWednesday, June 20, 2012 www.greensburgdailynews.com 50 cents
Index: Obituaries / 3 Cipher / 3 Neighbors / 12 Sports / 7 Weather / 12
Generations
Five generations of the same family
Page 12
Clinic
Decatur County youth run a clinic
Page 7
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ROB COX
DAILY NEWS
GREENSBURG — Tasha Par-
sons, 30, appeared in Decatur
County Superior Court Tuesday af-
ternoon before Judge Matthew Bai-
ley, formally pleading guilty to the
June 2011 murder of her 12-year-
old son, Devin.
The agreement marks an unex-
pected turning point in the year-old
case.
Before Tuesday’s plea, Parsons’
trial had been reset multiple times,
indicating her intent to fight the
charges, which, in addition to mur-
der, included neglect of a depend-
ent.
Her most recent trial date was
Aug. 13.
According to court documents,
as part of the agreement, the neglect
of a dependent charge will be
dropped.Additionally, the state will
also withdraw life imprisonment
without parole as a punishment,
leaving Parsons eligible for early
release.
The plea agreement stipulates
that Parsons shall receive “a total
sentence of 60 years in the Indiana
Department of Corrections.”
Parsons also faces monetary
fines.
The defendant appeared in court
Tuesday in a county-issued orange
jump suit and wrist and ankle
shackles. She walked with head
down, guided by personnel from
the Decatur County Sheriff’s De-
partment and jail.
To be certain she understood the
agreement and that she’d been ap-
propriately advised of its legal ram-
ifications, Judge Bailey reviewed
its most significant stipulations
with Parsons during the hearing.
The defendant listened intently,
confirming in a low, monotone
voice, that yes, she understood the
agreement; yes, she had reviewed it
thoroughly with defense lawyer
Christopher Tebbe; and yes, she
completely understood its legal
ramifications and consequences.
Prosecutor Jim Rosenberry also
called to the stand lead investigator
Detective William Meyerrose, a 22-
year veteran of the Greensburg Po-
lice Department.
During Meyerrose’s testimony,
the state offered into evidence a
June 4, 2011 video-recorded inter-
view Parsons voluntarily gave to
Meyerrose and Detective Pete
Tressler of the Indiana State Police,
the case’s other lead investigator.
The courtroom sat in charged,
rapt silence as the video played.
In the interview, Parsons re-
counted the events of the evening of
Devin Parsons’ murder, admitting
to detectives to “kicking and
stomping” him 14 or 15 times, and
punching him in the head.
Parsons refused to accept blame
for the murder, however, instead
laying primary culpability with her
live-in boyfriend at the time, Waldo
Lynn Jones Jr., who’s scheduled to
be tried Oct. 29.
Parsons also contended in the in-
terview that Jones forced her to run
a bath for Devin Parsons, who was
“bleeding everywhere” by that
point. She further stated that, while
in the tub, Jones submerged her
son’s head in the water multiple
times and held his face under the
running faucet.
Parsons stated her certainty the
boy was “drowned” as they
dragged him from the bath and
laid him on a bed. She also told
detectives that Jones held a lit cig-
arette against the boy’s legs as he
lay on the bed to prove he was
“faking.”
According to reports, however,
autopsy results ruled out death by
drowning and instead attributed
the boy’s death to “multiple blunt
force traumatic injuries from head
to toe.”
In the interview, Parsons also
confirmed that, during the hours-
long beating, Devin Parsons was
also “hit with a metal TV tray,”
had his head “pounded into the
floor repeatedly with a cooler,”
was “thrown into a home-enter-
tainment center,” was “smashed
over the head with a coffee table,”
and was “hit with a belt.”
The incident began, Parsons
further explained, when Devin
Parsons allegedly stole a quantity
of illegally-obtained prescription
Percocet pills from Jones and the
defendant, and refused to divulge
their location.
The defendant in court Tuesday
afternoon presented a notable con-
trast compared to the belligerent,
slightly incoherent, 29-year-old
jailed suspect who recounted the
murder to detectives on the year-old
video recording.
Parsons spoke little during Tues-
day’s hearing and offered nothing
resembling the repeated denials or
deflection of blame heard on the
video. She also confirmed to Judge
Bailey she was no longer under the
influence of alcohol or any drug.
Instead, the defendant quietly
confirmed to Judge Bailey, that yes,
she was indeed guilty of beating
and murdering her son and that yes,
she was aware of and resigned to
face the consequences.
Parsons’sentencing is set for Ju-
ly 20.
Contact: Rob Cox at 812-663-
3111 x7011
Photo by Sandy Biddinger
Tasha Parsons is led from court following a hearing Tuesday afternoon in which she entered a guilty plea to
the June 2011 murder of her son, Devin.
Parsons: Guilty of murder
BRENT BROWN
DAILY NEWS
GREENSBURG — Standing
in front of a table awash with prize
ribbons, September Place resident
Agnes Koontz offered pointers to
friends, family and fellow club
members on a hobby at which
she’s most certainly excelled:
Knitting.
Agnes took up the practice
about 25 years ago, and she’s nev-
er looked back.
One look at Agnes’ myriad rib-
bon collection — some of which
were garnered at the Indiana State
Fair, others earned at the Decatur
County Fair — proves taking up
knitting was a wise choice for
Agnes.
The Decatur County woman
has fashioned clothing of pretty
much every sort on her knitting
machine. She’s also created
doilies and several “Raggedy
Anne” dolls in addition to snow-
man Christmas ornaments and
even socks.
Agnes has knitted blue and
white scarves for the Super Bowl,
and she’s fashioned several caps
for cancer patients who’ve lost
their hair to chemotherapy.
Personalized baby blankets are
one of the accomplished seam-
stress’ more popular items, manu-
factured, appropriately enough, in
pink for girls and blue for boys.
The child’s name is stitched in-
to the top of the blanket, while his
or birthday appears at the bottom.
Pink blankets bear rows of hearts,
while their blue counterparts are
decorated with sailboats.
And while there’s clearly a
great deal of love in each stitch
sewn by Agnes, she insists pa-
tience is the key, perhaps even
more so than talent.
“You need patience, endurance
and you have to stay with it,” said
Agnes Monday.
A member of the Red Hat Soci-
ety, Agnes’ presentation enthralled
fellow members as well as other
classy ladies at September Place.
Red Had Society Queen Ruth
Ainsworth spoke highly of Agnes’
talents during the presentation
Monday as did Secretary Sharon
Moylan, who helped organize the
presentation.
The ladies meet once per
month, but will not hold another
presentation until August due to
the upcoming Decatur County
Fair.
Agnes remains undecided as to
whether or not she’ll vie for more
championship ribbons at this
year’s fair, but she has ruled out
participating in the State Fair. The
three necessary trips to Indianapolis
to enter her items, have them
judged, then retrieve them isn’t
worth the trouble anymore, she
says.
Agnes, it seems, is perfectly
content to showcase her meticu-
lously crafted wares to friends and
family these days, all of whom
seem to appreciate the time she
takes to do so.
Agnes told the Daily News her
favorite project was crafting
sweaters for her great-grandchil-
dren in 2000. Now in their teens,
pictures of the children then and
now accompanied Agnes’ presenta-
tion Monday.
Closing to applause and laugh-
ter, Agnes appeared to enjoy shar-
ing her items Monday.
“It’s been fun to do,” the cham-
pion knitter said modestly Monday.
Following her first presentation
of this kind, Agnes told the Daily
News some aspects of knitting are a
good deal less fun than others.
A Raggedy Anne, for which she
once won a first place ribbon at
both the Decatur County Fair and
the Indiana State Fair, was particu-
larly difficult to give a proper coif-
fure. The doll’s signature hairstyle
had to be stitched by hand, a
process Agnes called “tedious and
tiresome.”
The effort clearly paid off,
however, as Agnes’ version of the
classic toy was good enough to
merit three ribbons on its own.
The prize winning Raggedy Anne
wasn’t part of Agnes’ presentation
Monday, but she did bring along
another she’d created at a different
time. The doll also had to have its
eyes, nose and mouth hand-
stitched by Agnes.
The champion knitter still
keeps a manual included with her
knitting machine that offers pat-
tern designs for creations of every
sort. Thumbing through pages in
the book, Agnes pointed to a
graphic, then gestured to the same
design adorning one of her cloth-
ing creations.
It’s a testament to Agnes’ skill
and perseverance that brought her
to September Place’s meeting
room Monday.
It was her willingness to show-
case her work and offer the advice
of a seasoned knitting “pro” to all
those around her that brought
along everyone else.
Contact: Brent Brown 812-
663-3111 x7056
Photo by Brent Brown
Agnes Koontz, a long-time resident of September Place, showed off a bit of her knitting talents to fellow res-
idents and friends Monday afternoon. Agnes has been knitting for about 25 years.
Local woman has knack for knitting Ind. outdoor
businesses
being hit by
drought
ALBION, Ind. (AP) — Indi-
ana’s long dry spell is starting to
take a bite out of outdoor business-
es across the state during what is
normally their peak season.
Open burning bans had been is-
sued as of Tuesday in more than 30
of Indiana’s 92 counties as much of
the state is listed as being in at least
moderate drought.
The prohibition on campfires at
Chain O’Lakes State Park in north-
eastern Indiana has reduced busi-
ness by about one-third at the shop
Alan Erwin runs there selling fire-
wood and other supplies to
campers.
“A lot of what we sell revolves
around campfires,” Erwin told The
News Sun of Kendallville. “We sell
lots of wood over the weekends.
That makes up probably 15 to 20
percent of our sales.”
Some of the sales drop might
have come from the park’s camp-
grounds being only about half full,
Erwin said.
“It’s just one of those things
we’ve got to wade through,” Erwin
said. “Being a business, you’ve just
got to refocus. That’s what we’re
doing.”
Local officials across the state
say they’re worried about fires
spreading quickly from tinder-dry
grass, with many wondering
whether they will be faced with
calling off Fourth of July fire-
works shows if significant rainfall
doesn’t arrive.
“There’s been brush fires, wood
fires and just plain stupidity fires,
and it’s taxing our resources,” Peru
Fire Chief Chris Betzner told the
Kokomo Tribune. “Until we get
some moisture, it’s bad out there.”
Most counties in northeastern
Indiana have issued burn bans, and
similar decisions are being made by
more central and southern Indiana
counties.