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Murder charge against Parsons dismissed




Sara ParsonsRCSO

Sara ParsonsRCSO

A first-degree murder charge against former Murfreesboro resident Sara Parsons has been dismissed after she was found mentally incompetent to stand trial, documents show.

General Sessions Court Judge Barry Tidwell signed an order Oct. 23 dismissing the case against Parsons, without prejudice, based on a request by the Hamilton County District Attorney’s Office. The Chattanooga-based DA handled the case after Rutherford County DA Jennings Jones recused himself, citing a family friendship.

The Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office charged Parsons, 32, of Houston, Texas, in December 2016 with murder in the May 2007 shooting death of her boyfriend, Phon Siharath. She waived extradition last year and turned herself in at the Rutherford County jail before being released on $150,000 bond.

Hamilton County Assistant District Attorney Tom Landis filed the motion in late October to dismiss the charge after receiving a competency evaluation of Parsons by Smyrna clinical psychologist Dr. Harry Steuber saying she is unable to consult with her attorney or hold any “reasonable degree” of understanding.

“She presents with little or no comprehension of the nature of the legal charges and process against her at this time. Further, she had no understanding of the pending consequences that can follow if found guilty,” Steuber’s evaluation letter states.

Parsons is unable to “advise” her attorney or participate in her own defense, and treatment notes indicate she has been “in a continuous state of psychosis” for more than a decade, the psychologist wrote.

Steuber found “little or no indication” she would become competent in the future, either, and he also determined at the time of the offense, “her severe mental disease” prevented Parsons from “appreciating the nature and wrongfulness” of a murder.

Parsons, who was 22 at the time, had been a suspect in the case since Siharath was found shot to death at his Grange Place home on Asbury Road more than a decade ago, according to Sheriff’s Office Maj. Bill Sharp.

Siharath was killed with one shot to the head, the sheriff’s office reported, and a 9 mm handgun was found at the scene. The victim’s family identified Parsons as his girlfriend and said she was with him the night before he was found murdered.

Based on the evaluation, Landis’ motion filed in General Sessions Court notes Parsons is incapable of standing trial, nor is there any “reasonable expectation” she will become competent.

“Further, at the time of Mr. Phon Siharath’s murder on May 17, 2007, Sara Parsons labored under an extreme mental illness to the extent that she could not appreciate the wrongfulness of her actions,” Landis’ motion states.

He points out it is “blackletter law” in Tennessee that people found incompetent to stand trial cannot be prosecuted or tried. In addition, “insanity” at the time of a crime is an “absolute defense” the charges, the motion says. He points out, however, the possibility exists she could become competent and should face the charge then.

Parsons’ attorney Terry Fann confirmed the case was filed and dismissed in General Sessions and never went to a grand jury. He filed an order of expungement after Tidwell dismissed it.

“Ms. Parsons was arrested and charged by the Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office in December 2016. Since that time we have worked with her healthcare providers and the prosecutors to determine if she was able to participate in this criminal process,” Fann said. “After forensic psychiatric evaluations this year, including one ordered by the court in August, it’s the opinion of those experts that Ms. Parsons cannot, under the Constitution and Tennessee law, stand trial. The district attorney pro tem acknowledged the findings and filed an appropriate motion to dismiss the charge based upon medical opinions and the court granted the motion and the case was dismissed and Parsons was released from her bond.”

Sheriff Mike Fitzhugh said detectives began investigating the case when Siharath was found fatally shot in 2007, gathering evidence, talking to witnesses and reviewing their findings with the District Attorney’s Office.

The investigation was turned over to the Cold Case Unit and charges were filed 10 years after the death.

“Detectives did their due diligence in preparing the case and making the arrest,” Fitzhugh said. “If a judge finds the defendant mentally incompetent to stand trial, the prosecution will end.”

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