“48 Hours Mystery” to showcase Walker County’s Sam Parker murder case
Jan 20, 2010 | 4259 views | 6 
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Sam Parker
About a half-dozen “48 Hours Mystery” producers and crew members, at any given time, were on site for Parker’s murder trial in Walker County Superior Court in downtown LaFayette from late August to early September.
Tracy Smith, a correspondent with “48 Hours Mystery,” was here for the beginning and end of the trial. She predicted viewers are in for a surprise when the episode airs next weekend.
Smith said eight jurors were interviewed for the episode and their “take” on the trial may not be what most in the area would expect.
Smith said the jurors took the case very seriously — and to heart, often leaving jury deliberations in tears. In the show the jurors discuss what rang true for them during the trial. That, she said, could be a big surprise for local residents who followed the trial closely.
Smith said “48 Hours Mystery” interviewed Parker as the jury deliberations were going on and after the trial ended.
Parker was accused of murdering his wife Theresa, a dispatcher with Walker County 911 who disappeared in March 2007. At the time Sam was a sergeant with the LaFayette Police Department. He was charged with his wife’s murder in February 2008, even though her body was never found. He was found guilty and is currently serving a life sentence.
Smith described Walker County and LaFayette as an inviting town that made the “48 Hours Mystery” crew feel like family.
“Everyone was so nice to us,” she said.
Smith said everyone had an opinion in the case, ranging from “he did it” to “she is still alive.”
Smith said the producers and crew members frequented Suzie’s Sunset Café in downtown LaFayette to “hear what the town was talking about” regarding the trial.
“Walking into Suzie’s was like running into friends,” she said.
The “48 Hours Mystery” crew spent a lot of time at Suzie’s, and of course at the courthouse, and stayed overnight in Chattanooga.
Smith even spent some time shopping for her children at Sew Cute in LaFayette.
She described her experience as becoming a part of the family in the community and, despite the fact that it was a murder trial, the experience was a positive one.
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Making a case for conviction
Deric Rothe/Auburn Journal
Suzanne Gazzaniga tells Auburn Rotary Club members Tuesday about the intensive effort by local law enforcement and the Placer County District Attorney’s Office that led to the conviction of Paul Kovacich Jr. for the 1982 murder of his wife Janet. Gazzaniga and her prosecution team created a timeline and calendar outlining Janet and Paul Kovacich’s daily and hourly whereabouts shortly before and after the homicide. “The trial came down to re-creating bit by bit what happened in September 1982,” she said.
****** READ HERE ---> Despite facing long odds and having no body, no weapon, no crime scene, no indisputable cause of death, no eye witnesses and no confession, Gazzaniga and the Placer District Attorney’s team won a conviction. She was recently named a statewide Prosecutor of the Year for her efforts.