Mother gets prison for children's death

A Weedsport woman will spend up to three years in state prison for causing the deaths of three of her children in a fiery crash in June 2007 in Three Mile Bay.

Lisa M. Parker was sentenced Monday in Jefferson County Court to one to three years in state prison despite her attorney's plea to have her placed on probation instead.

Ms. Parker pleaded guilty July 3 to three counts of second-degree manslaughter and 13 lesser counts in connection with the June 22, 2007, accident in which three of her children, Tyler J. Parker, 10, Nathaniel J. Parker, 6 and Mary E.L. Provo, 2, died.

Ms. Parker's vehicle had been stopped by sheriff's deputies on Route 12E in Chaumont shortly before the crash. For unexplained reasons, she sped away from the deputy at speeds of up to 85 mph before losing control and crashing the vehicle into a utility pole. The three children died on impact.

Her attorney, Peter T. Juliano, Buffalo, argued against prison time for Ms. Parker, saying she has no recollection of the accident. He said she suffers from anxiety attacks and bipolar disorder, which was not diagnosed until after she spent seven weeks in a coma following the accident.

He claimed Ms. Parker suffered a panic attack after police pulled her vehicle over and that mental illness was the underlying reason for her fleeing police.

"I can tell you Lisa Parker accepts responsibility for what happened. Unfortunately, she can't remember what happened that night," Mr. Juliano said.

He said she still faces rehabilitation from her injuries, including an operation on her pelvis set for Sept. 18, as well as a need for psychiatric care, and that being imprisoned would prevent her from receiving the proper care.

"She is in prison every day of her life," he said. "She is living in a mental hell. Prison isn't a punishment for her. Her punishment is that three of her children are deceased. She has to live with that every day."

Ms. Parker sobbed continuously as Deborah A. Parker, Solvay, her former mother-in-law and grandmother of Nathaniel and Tyler, recalled the children's personalities and intelligence before asking Judge Kim H. Martusewicz to impose a prison sentence.

"Your honor, she has flung my family into a nightmare that we can't awaken from," Mrs. Parker said. "I don't believe for one minute that she can't remember anything or that she's bipolar. There will come a time when she has to admit that she is the reason that Tyler, Nathaniel and Mary are dead."

Ms. Parker's boyfriend, John Provo, father of Mary Provo and an unborn child that also died as a result of the injuries to Ms. Parker, said he believed Tyler and Nathaniel "would not want their mother in jail." He said both he and Ms. Parker's surviving daughter, Serena Parker, need Ms. Parker with them.

"I just can't see how anything can be served by her going to prison," Mr. Provo said.

Mr. Provo was following Ms. Parker in a separate vehicle the night of the accident as the couple headed toward a town of Lyme camp for a vacation. He said when he came upon the accident, he thought there was a house fire because of the size of the fire he saw.

Ms. Parker said she has been unable to bring herself to unpack the suitcases packed for the children's trip. She described how no one would tell her at the hospital where her children were until finally informing her "how the car had burned with the kids in it."

"There is nothing anybody can do to make up for the pain I feel every day. It's been a hell that nobody can ever make better," she said.

Judge Martusewicz said he considered Ms. Parker's mental health issues and need for physical rehabilitation, but that the state prison system is equipped to deal with these needs, and proceeded to pronounce a prison term.

"Unfortunately, no amount of prison time can change the events of that night, nor can it restore the lives of Tyler, Nathaniel and Mary," the judge said.

Mr. Juliano asked that Ms. Parker be allowed to begin serving her prison sentence after her Sept. 18 surgery, but Judge Martusewicz denied the request. Outside the courtroom, Mr. Juliano said he is considering an appeal of the sentence.

"I'm disappointed because I thought the judge acknowledged that she is bipolar and that this was some kind of a panic attack," he said. "Generally, in a case like this jail time is imposed and it's warranted. But I don't believe that jail time for Lisa Parker is necessary."

Deborah Parker said outside the courtroom that she was relieved by the prison sentence.

"I'm just glad that justice was served," she said.

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"She is in prison every day of her life. She is living in a mental hell. Prison isn't a punishment for her. Her punishment is that three of her children are deceased."

Peter T. Juliano

Defense attorney