LAKE COUNTY, Fla. – A Florida man is locked up in Lake County after deputies say he brutally beat and stabbed his grandfather to death before cutting off the victim’s ears.
Investigators were called to a home Saturday evening on Lake Mack Drive in DeLand.
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Kolby Allen Parker, 30, of DeLand, told investigators that his grandfather Ronal Wells, Sr., 77, attacked him while the pair were smoking marijuana that was possibly laced, according to a news release. He claimed Wells came at him with a knife but Parker later changed his story and said he was the one to grab a baseball bat, records show.
Deputies said Parker beat his grandfather with the bat, striking him multiple times in the head, before grabbing a butcher’s knife and stabbing the victim in the “heart” and neck.
When asked why he did it, Parker said he wanted his grandfather to be with his late grandmother and “it was his time to go,” according to the affidavit.
Investigators said Wells was dead on the porch when they arrived and as they were speaking with Parker, he produced two human ears from his pocket, which belonged to the victim. He had one ear in each pocket and admitted to cutting them off, records show.
Parker then became violent and attacked the deputies, the release said.
He asked a deputy for his gun and when the deputy said no, he attacked another deputy, grabbing their Taser and gun in an attempt to remove them, according to the affidavit.
Deputies said Parker also kicked, hit and continued to try to take their weapons while they tried to arrest him. A Taser was used on Parker but it wasn’t effective, the report said.
Deputies said they then executed a search warrant on the home, finding a bloody baseball bat and a large butcher knife also dripping with blood. A cooking apron with the phrase “The family butcher” written on it and “plastic human bloody ears” attached to it was found in Parker’s room, records show.
Park is being held without bond and faces charges of battery on a law enforcement officer, resisting with violence and second-degree murder.
According to a GoFund Me page organized by Wells’ daughter, the man’s wife also recently passed away.
“My dad was a war hero, head of our family and was the greatest man you could ever meet. He was and is my heart, which is now in a million pieces,” Rory Yarbrough wrote.
As the family is now planning two funeral proceedings, they’ve asked people to offer their prayers, condolences, and if they can, financial support as the family works to make arrangements. People can donate to the GoFund Me campaign here.
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