Elizabeth Erwin
Public Relations Manager
The Marshall County community received some semblance of closure today as Gabriel Parker was sentenced to life in prison.
On Jan. 23, 2018, 15-year-old Parker entered Marshall County High School and opened fire, killing two of his classmates and injuring 14 other students.
On Friday, June 12, Parker received two life sentences for the murders of Preston Cope and Bailey Holt in addition to 70 years for 14 assault charges.
During the hearing, victims, parents of victims and the parents of Cope and Holt emotionally addressed the court before Judge James Jameson, emotional himself, handed down the sentence.
The first to address the court was Mason Cosner who was struck by a bullet on the left side of his face. Cosner spoke about the emotional impact of the shooting.
“There’s a side of me that wants me to watch Gabe be in jail for the rest of his life, but there’s also a side of me that hopes he may find God in jail and find peace for himself,” Cosner said. “But when you do something like this, you should never have freedom. If you can make that kind of decision to start taking the lives or attempt to take the lives of others then you’re old enough to sit in jail and pay the consequences of your actions.”
Several parents of victims testified on behalf of their children. One parent was Stephanie Ives, mother of Griffin Ives, who was one of the 14 students injured. Stephanie Ives spoke about how the Marshall County community came together after the shooting.
“I want [Parker] to realize that his actions had a much further reach than the 16 families that were wounded,” Stephanie Ives said. “Every single person in Marshall County was affected that day. Everyone had someone who was associated with the school—a student, someone who worked there—and after the shooting, students and parents and teachers no longer saw the school as a safe place. He took away the innocence of children and he took away the safe feeling that each and every child should feel when they walk through the doors of our schools… Because of his selfishness, our lives changed dramatically. But we all became just a little bit stronger.”
Justin Keeling, father of Dalton Keeling, and Amy Nelson, mother of Seth Nelson, also spoke on behalf of their children. Amy Nelson spoke about how her family discovered that their son would have died if a calculator in his backpack had not obstructed the bullet.
“There are two families in this courtroom that will always have a missing piece of the puzzle,” Amy Nelson said. “Hopefully closure of some sort will come out of this today. Mr. Parker, I want you to know that we are Marshall County strong, and someone from my family will be at every parole hearing to ensure the Marshall County shooting families are not forgotten.”
Brian and Teresa Cope, parents of Preston Cope, also took to the stand to address Parker in an emotional testimony.
“Gabe Parker, you have taken away our son and there is nothing left to take,” Brian Cope said. “The loss of our son is an amputation of our heart.”
Brian Cope spoke about Preston’s love for life, describing him as a shy, young man with a contagious laugh and a smile that could light up a room.
“There is no reason why his life was taken, no reason at all,” Brian Cope said. “Two beautiful lives were ended that day by pure evil… I ask God to help me see good in people even when it’s hard. I don’t see good when I look at Gabe Parker. He has no remorse and no conscience. I see evil, pure evil… We pray for the Parker family. We don’t know why, we will never know why, but we just ask God to give us the strength to get through this life and make this world better.”
Amy and Jason Holt, parents of Bailey Holt, spoke about their final moments with their daughter on the morning of Jan. 23, 2018.
“It’s unbearable to think about,” Amy Holt said. “Some days I’m not able to breathe. I would never have thought when I kissed her that morning it would have been the last time.”
In remembrance, Dennis Foust, commonwealth attorney, wore a University of Louisville tie and pin in honor of Bailey Holt, along with a University of Kentucky pin in honor of Preston Cope. In addition to a picture of Bailey Holt, Foust also had her glasses and stuffed animal alongside Preston Cope’s baseball glove at the council table.
Foust spoke about the importance of remembering the victims after the conclusion of the court case.
“As a community, it’s imperative that we give closure to the extent possible to the case but that we lift our heroes, that we continue to support them fully,” Foust said. “That we try to understand what they have gone through and that we begin the healing process.”
“While I cannot do what I wish I could do, which would be to turn back time, undo these horrible events and restore our victims their families and our community to a reset at 7:57:04 a.m. on January 23rd 2018, one second before Gabe Parker made his horrible choice, but that cannot be done,” Foust said. “All we can do is to lift our heroes and do everything we can to heal as a community… And finally, as we lift our heroes we want to make Gabriel Parker a footnote in our history and leave his future to the Kentucky Department of Corrections.”
Tom Griffiths, Parker’s defense attorney, addressed the court on Parker’s behalf.
“One of the things you heard today and before today outside of this courtroom is that you heard people say that Gabe is evil—I disagree,” Griffiths said while addressing Judge Jameson. “And it may be hard for people to hear me say that but I disagree… I’ve gotten to know him over the last two years, and what I believe is that he was a child, a child who had horribly lost his way. And one day, I hope, he finds it. I really do. Because he has a lot to atone for. And I hope, and he hopes, that the end of this legal case in this courtroom can bring the families of the victims at least some small measure of peace.”
Before sentencing Parker, an emotional Jameson apologized to the victims and their families.
“There’s no real justice to be had here,” Jameson said. “We can’t give you your children back… But what I can do is make sure it doesn’t happen again… I’m very sorry for your loss for all of you that have suffered.”
Parker will be eligible for parole after 20 years.
