Silas Parks
Defense attorneys will seek a change of venue for the trial of a Moscow man accused of murdering his pregnant wife and unborn daughter, then setting fire to the couple’s home.
Silas Parks faces two charges of first degree murder and one charge of first-degree arson in connection with the deaths. His 28-year-old wife, Sarah Parks, was found dead in the burned-out duplex on June 24. An autopsy determined that she and the fetus died of strangulation or suffocation prior to the fire.
Parks’ attorney filed severl motions in Latah County District Court this week, including a motion for a change of venue and to have the second count of first-degree murder against the unborn child dropped based on the stage of pregnancy at the time of death. Sarah Parks was estimated to be 19 to 20 weeks along when she died.
The motions will be considered at a pretrial conference on March 3, about teo months before the scheduled start of the trial.
If convicted, Parks could be sentenced up to life in prison. Latah County Prosecutor Bill Thompson is not pursuing the death penalty.
