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A new episode of Dateline: Secrets Uncovered will arrive on Tuesday, November 1, 2022, to cover the brutal double murder of Charlie and Diane Parker, a religious and devout couple living in Nixonville, South Carolina. The case dates back to 2005 when two employees and their son found the elderly couple shot to death in their home. The authorities were quick to act and soon made their first couple of arrests.
Initially, police as well as witnesses believed that Diane Parker's daughter, who was Charles' stepdaughter, Bambi Bennett, and her 32-year-old boyfriend, Richard Gagnon, were the perpetrators of the crime. This theory was confirmed with some forensic evidence, which also hinted at the same thing. It would take years for the real criminal to be caught and the case of Charlie and Diane Parker's murder to be ultimately solved.
Five quick facts about Charlie and Diane Parker's murder
1) Two employees of Charlie Parker's company found the couple dead inside their home
No one who knew the happy couple closely could have imagined either of them ending up dead on April 12, 2005. Charlie's company was situated in a barn about 100 to 150 yards behind the Parker residence. Two employees, along with Charles and Diane Parker's son, Charlie Jr., found the couple dead inside their Nixonville home on South Carolina Highway 90 on April 12, 2005.
2) Eyewitness reports and forensic evidence indicated Bambi Bennett and her boyfriend, Richard Gagnon, as the chief suspects
Eyewitness testimonies revealed that Bambi and Richard were seen outside the Parkers' residence the night before the murder, according to reports. This was confirmed when Charlie's blood was found on the footwear of both Bambi and Richard. This led the authorities to arrest the couple and charge them with double murder.
3) A false testimony from another convict led to the conviction of Richard Gagnon
As revealed later, Richard Gagnon was not behind the crime, but he was initially unfairly convicted because of another convict, Robert Lee Mullins, who had been with Richard during pre-trial detention. The prosecution used his statement, which was false, to pin Richard for the double homicide. A former preacher at Murrells Inlet Community Church later revealed that Mullins had faked his testimony.
4) Bambi Bennett was let go due to a lack of evidence against her
Bambi Bennett was also an equal suspect in the case but was let go after six months in prison as the authorities could not gather enough proof to charge her. She has remained under the radar ever since.
5) An unidentified DNA at the crime scene became the key to cracking the case
After Gagnon was convicted, there was only one piece of the puzzle that remained unsolved in Charlie and Diane Parker's death. It was a piece of DNA that had no match. In 2009, Bruce Antwain Hill was arrested on another home invasion charge in Tennessee. This resulted in the FBI taking his DNA, and the authorities finally finding a match with Charlie and Diane Parker's murder.
Bruce was charged with murder and burglary and currently remains in prison.
Dateline: Secrets Uncovered will follow the story of Charlie and Diane Parker's murder in detail when it airs on November 1, 2022.
