BENTON COUNTY, Mo. — Prosecutors have charged Anthony Balbirnie, 47, with multiple counts in connection to the death of of Khighla Parks, 15, whose body was found in Truman Lake near Warsaw, Mo., on Sept. 30, 2012.
Prosecutors charged Balbirnie with second-degree murder, second-degree statutory rape, second-degree child molestation, endangering the welfare of a child, tampering with physical evidence and abandonment of a corpse.
Court documents state Parks was killed by asphyxiation after being sexually assaulted. A couple fishing at Truman Lake found her body floating in shallow water on Sunday, Sept. 30, near One Mile Bridge in Warsaw. Prior to her body being discovered, Parks had been missing for 10 days from her Williard, Mo., home.
Police arrested Anthony Balbirnie, 47, on Oct. 8, 2012. Prior to his arrest, Balbirnie led Springfield, Mo., police on a chase through a section of Springfield before getting away. Later, Green County deputies pursued him in a second chase that ended when Balbirnie’s car gave out.
KSPR in Springfield said Balbirnie and Parks were Facebook friends.
