Judge rejects defense motion, Bobbi Parker trial to proceed
Published: October 7, 2009
MANGUM — District Judge Richard Darby overruled a motion Wednesday to dismiss the criminal case against Bobbi Parker, paving the way for a January trial.
Defense attorney Garvin Isaacs filed a motion to dismiss last month by arguing that the statute of limitations in the case ran out Aug. 31, 1997 — three years after convicted murderer Randolph Franklin Dial escaped from the Oklahoma State Reformatory in Granite. Parker drove the van that carried Dial off the prison property, but it has long been debated whether she was a kidnap victim or willing participant.
The controversy re-ignited April 4, 2005, when authorities found Dial and Parker living together on a chicken farm in Center, Texas. Prosecutors contend it was only at that time Parker's role in the escape could be truly be investigated, and that the statute of limitations began April 6 upon her return to Oklahoma.
Judge Darby agreed with the state's conclusion. Following an hour and 15 minutes of arguments from Assistant District Attorney David Thomas and Isaacs, Darby announced his decision. He stated simply, "Whether she was a kidnap victim or participant is what the trial is all about."
Darby also ruled that he saw no evidence that the state violated any due process with a "tactical delay" in the filing of the charges. District Attorney John Wampler charged Parker with aiding and abetting Dial April 4, 2008 — three years after Parker's discovery in Texas.
Inside the courtroom, Parker sat calmly just as she has throughout her numerous court proceedings. Behind her sat 23 relatives, friends and spiritual leaders, including her husband, Randy, and their two daughters, Robbi and Brandi.
The large group crowded around Parker in a show of support as they left the courthouse.
"When we walked out of the courtroom together, it reminded me of a funeral," said Nina Colter, Parker's mother-in-law. "Everyone was so sad. But we're a very close family, and through our faith, we'll be get through this time."
A trial date has been set for Jan. 11.
"We're satisfied the judge followed the law," said Assistant District Attorney Eric Yarborough, who is handing over the lead role of the case to Thomas. "We knew she left the prison with Dial at the time of his escape. We knew the car was found in Wichita Falls, Texas. We knew that is where she made a phone call to one person, saying she was fine. We knew she made two other calls in Texas.
"Then, at that point, we knew nothing — not until she is found 10 years and seven months later."
Isaacs argued that even the FBI declared Parker "a kidnap victim" in many of its official reports, including a federal complaint filed in Oklahoma in 1994. He contended that authorities had plenty of time to investigate the circumstances of the escape in those first three years, and that now his client's due process has been violated by the passage of 15 years.
"We have 123 witnesses in four states," Isaacs said. "Six of those witnesses — key witnesses for us — have since died. That hurts."
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