MURDERER SENTENCED TO 110 YEARS AFTER JURY TRIAL
July 26, 2024
Evansville, IN –Prosecutor Diana Moers announces that John Cameron Parker was sentenced to 110 years for the murder of two men in Vanderburgh County. The sentence reflects a term of 55 years for each victim to be run consecutively. The sentencing hearing was held on July 23, 2024, after conviction by a jury on June 26, 2024,
when the jury found John Cameron Parker guilty of murdering Michael Blankenship Jr. and Mitchell Greathouse. The Honorable Magistrate Judge Ryan Reed of the Vanderburgh County Circuit Court presided over the trial and sentencing.
On the evening of October 22, 2023, Parker and his two coconspirators drove to 2658 Mt Vernon Avenue where Parker shot the two victims. Surveillance footage showed the Defendant walking into the residence at approximately 7:50 pm and leaving hastily at 7:51 pm. Surveillance footage also picked up a vehicle in the alley behind the residence with three individuals – a driver, a “lookout”, and the Defendant in this case. Human blood was later located on the vehicle’s handles. After the murder, Parker and his “lookout”, Caden Harms, burnt their clothes in a grill. Harms admitted his involvement to Evansville Police Department Detectives soon after the shooting and later pleaded guilty to Aiding in a Murder. Harms received a 45-year sentence. At trial, the State presented video footage from the crime scene, coconspirator testimony, DNA and Ballistic evidence.
After less than 3 hours of deliberation, the jury found John Cameron Parker guilty. Prosecutor Moers stated: “With each murder, our community is harmed. Two men lost their lives, and their families will now spend a lifetime suffering because of it. The citizens of Vanderburgh County deserve to live in a community where they do not have to worry about this type of crime. This Defendant will now spend the rest of his life in prison and Vanderburgh County is safer.”
Prosecutor Moers thanks her Deputy Prosecutors Stanley Levco and Brett Niemeier, Evansville Police Department Detectives Dillon Powers, Chris Jones, and all the officers who assisted in the investigation. Further, Prosecutor Moers thanks her investigations team including Jennifer Savage, Morgan Richardville, Paralegal Kiersten Butler, and Victim Advocate Robyn Mastison for their assistance in the case.
