A Small-Town Cover-Up? The Murder of Laura Parker
A teenager went missing in New York state in 1984 and was later found dead — so why weren’t her neighbours doing all they could to help her family?
Laura Parker was a typical teenager of the 1980s. At 14, she was in the ninth grade of her local high school, played on a softball team and sang in the choral choir. She was also particularly close to her parents Jim and Patricia, who had adopted her as a much-loved baby following six miscarriages.
But one spring day, their world was about to be ripped apart — and questions persist to this day about whether or not someone from nearby was involved in Laura’s shocking death. Could this have been a covered-up murder?
Laura vanishes
On the morning of May 25th 1984, Jim woke Laura up as he always did before he went to work. He was a maintenance employee at New York’s JFK airport, and he had to be out of the house by 5:30 AM for a morning shift. He kissed his daughter goodbye and left before she got dressed.
Laura’s mother Pat was still at home, and she saw the 14-year-old getting ready to go to Lindenhurst High School as usual. Before she left, Pat told her daughter to put a warmer sweater on as it was cool…
