FORT MYERS — Julie Lynn Parker, the 12-day-old child who was kidnapped after her mother was shot to death on Thursday, was back in her father’s arms on Saturday, rescued from a woman who police indicated was desperate for a baby.
The Lee County Sheriff’s Office found the child late Friday night at the north Fort Myers home of Betty Kirk, 35, who has been arrested and charged with first-degree murder and kidnapping, Capt. David Bonsall said on Saturday.
“As this case develops, you will see what a coldly premeditated act this was,” Bonsall said.
Kirk, who had a miscarriage recently, was a “passing acquaintance,” of Sharon Parker, the slain mother, Bonsall said.
Kirk, the unemployed mother of two pre-teen children, had been telling her friends and family that she was pregnant and had been checking into recent births, Bonsall said.
Sharon Parker, 33, was shot once in the back of her head while she sat in a recliner watching television. Her body was discovered on Thursday by her three other children when they came home from school. The baby was missing.
When Kirk took the Parker baby to her home, she claimed she had given birth to the child, Bonsall said. But apparently her family and friends did not believe the story because the child looked older than a newborn, he said.
Bonsall said Kirk was found through the help of tips from residents of Lehigh Acres, the community where the Parker family lives. Other information was provided by people who know Kirk, Bonsall said.
Police began watching Kirk’s house on Friday after learning about the strange “birth” of a child to Kirk and verifying through hospital records that no such birth had been registered. When detectives went to the home, Kirk fled in her car, Bonsall said. She was later stopped and arrested.
Inside the house, police discovered Julie Lynn, whose distinctive full head of dark hair had been shaved in an apparent attempt to diguise her. They also discovered several of the child’s belongings. Bonsall said the child was taken to an area hospital, examined and determined to be healthy.
Kirk has a criminal history, Bonsall said, although apparently not a history of violence. He said the Sheriff’s Office had been investigating her on unrelated “property crimes.” He said he did not know whether she had a history of mental illness.
An exhausted-looking Gary Parker, the child’s father, at a news conference on Saturday thanked the police and the public for helping find his baby and the suspect in the slaying of his wife.
“We’re just happy to have her back,” said Parker, who was holding the sleeping Julie Lynn in his arms. He was accompanied by his other children, twin 5-year-old boys and a 14-year-old daughter.
Sharon Parker had worked in the business office of Charter Glade Hospital in Fort Myers.
The hospital has said it will offer counseling, pastoral services and donations to the Parker family.
Gary Parker, 30, a construction worker with a development company, gave special thanks to his neighbors in the usually quiet community of Lehigh Acres, about 15 miles east of Fort Myers.
But Gary Parker’s gratitude will not soothe the fears of his neighbors, who said on Saturday that the killing of Sharon Parker has made them more security-conscious. They said they would no longer be able to think of Lehigh Acres as a safe place.
“This is scaring us a little bit,” said Suzi Skinner, who lives about 3,000 feet from the Parker home. “We used to leave the front windows open, but now we’ll lock everything.” She said that she would also begin to keep one of her three pit bulls upstairs in the house rather than outside.
“We are concerned. This is a strange thing,” said Chris Wooten, the father of a 3-year-old son. “I won’t get a dog, but I’ll be a lot more watchful. This was so unexpected.” Wooten said he has always kept a gun in the house.
Steve Berry put it most succinctly: “Everybody’s getting guns and dogs.”
Berry and Wooten live within a half-mile of the Parker home.
Other residents, who did not want to comment publicly on the Parker tragedy, were willing to talk about Lehigh Acres.
Called “Little L.A.,” Lehigh Acres has a population of about 25,000 and encompasses about 100 square miles. It was founded as a retirement community in 1953, but more recently younger families have been moving in, and the mix is now about 50-50. The area where the Parkers live is sparsely developed, and paved roads often lead into dirt or gravel.
The Parkers live in a modest, buff-colored one-story house. It is the only house on a short street where adjacent lots are for sale. On the lawn on Saturday were signs of happier times — children’s toys, camping equipment, a bicycle and a rose bush that had not yet bloomed.
