Parnel guilty of aggravated second-degree murder

Patrick Parnel was found guilty of aggravated second-degree murder on Monday for killing his newborn daughter shortly after his girlfriend gave birth to the baby in an Ocean Shores motel in April of 2013.

Prosecutors alleged that Parnel, 23, took the baby to a vacant lot shortly after it was born and then killed the infant by hitting it in the head with a tool he had in his car.

The jury, which decided not to impose the more severe charge of first-degree murder, arrived at a verdict around 2 p.m. on Monday afternoon. The trial was held over five days last week. Because the newborn was an especially vulnerable victim, Parnel could face life in prison, according to Deputy Prosecutor Katie Svoboda. Second-degree murder in Washington state is a Class A felony.

Parnel’s girlfriend, Brittany Taylor, was sentenced to four years and ten months in prison for her involvement in the newborn’s death.

No jurors were willing to talk about their decision after the Parnel verdict was reached.

Svoboda stressed that a guilty verdict was returned due, in large part, to the the Hoquiam, Ocean Shores and Grays Harbor County Law Enforcement teams working on the case together.

“It was really cool to see everyone work together. It shows what great results you can get when everyone cooperates,” she said.

Ocean Shores Police Sgt. David McManus agreed.

“It was a multi-agency effort,” he said. Everyone did a real good job.”

Sentencing will take place on Friday, Nov. 21, at 3:00 p.m.

Svoboda said last week that it is likely a ratchet that was found in Parnel’s car was used to kill the baby.

The ratchet was tested for blood, which came back positive for trace amounts. The blood on the ratchet belonged to Taylor. Svoboda said that the ratchet was underneath a towel that Taylor had given birth on, and, therefore, contained her DNA. She argued that Parnel most likely used the tool to hit his daughter and then wiped it with a washcloth that ended up hanging from a tree near where the baby was found.

During testimony last week, Sigmund Menchel, a forensic pathologist who performed an autopsy on the body of Parnel’s daughter, told the jury the baby died of blunt force trauma wounds to its head, also indicating that the baby had been born alive.

Steve Rostad, a neuropathologist who examined the baby’s brain, testified that the injuries sustained by the infant were due to “very significant force.”

Grays Harbor Sheriff’s Office Criminal Deputy Steve Shumate said last Thursday that Parnel admitted to police he hit the baby with a tire iron after driving to a vacant lot in Ocean Shores to drop the newborn off.

Parnel, however, denied killing the baby during his testimony last Friday. He said he only told investigators otherwise because he was emotionally and physically drained after an intense interrogation process carried out by police.

“It was them pressuring me to say something,” Parnel said on the stand. “My state of mind was destroyed — an intense interrogation stretches that out.”

Both Parnel and Taylor, who also testified during trial, said they weren’t ready for a baby and didn’t want their family or friends to know of the pregnancy. They said they had talked about putting the child up for adoption, but never made an appointment regarding the process.