A cold-blooded killer boasted to his victim’s girl

A cold-blooded killer boasted to his victim’s girlfriend of the blood he had spilt just minutes after robbing her unborn child of its dad, the Old Bailey heard today (Mon).

Terence Parkes, 40, plunged a knife deep into Gary Miller’s stomach and told his pregnant partner Rachel Whitehead, 18: ‘I have just done your boyfriend.

I have done him.

He’s dying.

‘

And before he drove calmly away from the murder scene on January 2 this year Parkes allegedly shouted at his unarmed rival: ‘If that’s all you can do it weren’t much.

‘

Mr Miller, 21, a builder, stumbled into the White Hart pub in Whitton, after the knife cut through his stomach and into his spine.

Shocked staff looked on in horror as Mr Miller collapsed amidst drinkers enjoying a quiet Sunday evening pint.

And relatives wept in court as they heard how staff at South Middlesex Hospital battled without success to save Mr Miller’s life.

Parkes, of (108) Fulmer Close, Hampton, denies one charge of murder.

Prosecutor Mr Mark Dennis told the court that Parkes had been involved in a relationship with Miss Whitehead in the fairly recent past.

Although he is 22 years her senior she gave birth to their child Eliza who is now 18-months-old.

But when Parkes was locked up for an offence of dishonesty their relationship collapsed and Miss Whitehead moved in with Mr Miller at his home in Colonial Avenue, Twickenham.

On Parkes’ release in November last year a row began over the custody of Eliza.

And on January 2 matters came to a head with Parkes driving to Mr Miller’s home in Colonial Avenue in his convertible black Volkswagen Golf.

Parkes claimed that police had been in touch with him to say that Miss Whitehead had been involved in a hit-and-run road smash and that they were trying to contact her through him.

But Mr Dennis told the court Parkes only said that ‘as a pretext for getting her to speak to him when his underlying motivation remained the access problem and his desire to sort it out.

‘It didn’t take very long before a heated exchange took place between the two of them with Miss Whitehead denying that she had been in any accident.

‘

The jury heard that Miss Whitehead took a kitchen knife with her to the confrontation outside her home in Colonial Avenue.

And when she caught a glimpse of a blade that Parkes had allegedly hidden in his trousers she drew on him.

Miss Whitehead’s father was on hand to seize the knife from her hand and the pair were both sent on their separate ways.

But shortly after the incident at 10.

30pm Parkes made a call to police complaining that Miss Whitehead had pulled a knife on him.

And officers told Parkes that they would meet him by a telephone kiosk opposite the White Hart pub in Kneller Rd, Whitton.

Miss Whitehead also decided to call police and Mr Miller volunteered to walk to the nearest telephone box to make the 999 call.

By coincidence the telephone box he was heading towards happened to be the one where Parkes was waiting for the police.

Mr Dennis continued: ‘While the defendant had been waiting for the police Mr Miller arrived at the kiosk.

‘It was quite by chance that Mr Miller should arrive at the same spot where the defendant was waiting himself.

‘The first any witness saw of the event was when the two men had already begun to fight.

‘They were scrapping with each other in a trial of strength.

‘The witness observed that Mr Miller appeared to be more aggressive and threw close quarters punches at the defendant who didn’t appear to be trying to get away.

‘Instead of backing away or simply producing the knife he stood his ground and he stabbed the unarmed Mr Miller in the stomach with such force that the blade penetrated his back bone.

‘Shortly before 10.

45pm Mr Miller stumbled into the White Hart and collapsed on the floor just inside the entrance and he lay there dying from a single stab wound to his stomach.

‘The defendant had been observed walking across to his motor car and without particular pace or alarm driving off leaving the hapless Mr Miller to his fate.

‘

At exactly the same time as the ambulance was called, 10.

45pm, Miss Whitehead called Parkes on his mobile phone.

And Mr Dennis continued: ‘She got through to the defendant but the defendant got in first with with any words in effect boasting about what he had done to Mr Miller: ‘I have just done your boyfriend.

I have done him.

He’s dying,’ Parkes said.

‘

Mr Miller was pronounced dead at 11.

40pm and Parkes was arrested the following day.

He told officers at Chiswick police station that he had never stabbed Mr Miller and he had not even been armed with a weapon.

The trial continues tomorrow.

(tue)
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