MELVIN PARKER GUILTY IN 1994 DOROTHY PAIGE SLAY

PARKER

PAIGE

THEY SUSPECTED him at the time, but when Melvin Parker's wife and the chief witness against him went into hiding, the case collapsed.
Fast forward 17-years and cops reopen the case of Dorothy Paige, who in August 1994 was found brutally stabbed and strangled in her Madison, WI, apartment.
And the cold case detectives immediately focus in on Melvin Parker, now 48, who just five years after Paige's murder was jailed on child abuse and burglary convictions.
He had been charged with murder in 1998, but that charge was dismissed after a key witness, Parker's wife Michele went into hiding, claiming that police were bending her story to make it fit their case. 
But it was the discovery that a witness who corroborated Michele Parker had lied to the original case detective, that finally cracked it for them.
So with little choice Parker ended with a no contest plea to first-degree reckless homicide. 
Assistant DA Brian Asmus told The State Journal: "This has been a long time coming for family members of Dorothy Paige, to finally have someone held accountable."
Paige's mother, Doris Koecher did not attend the hearing but said in a victim impact statement written by Amy Olson that Paige's death has been "a living hell" that has left her deeply depressed and withdrawn from the community.
She wrote: "I see no reason to give this person any type of leniency. Doris has expressed to me that if there is a possibility of the death penalty, that would be nice."