WINSTON-SALEM, N.C -- A Kernersville teenager is accused of beating his grandfather to death and then inviting a friend over to drink beer. Gruesome details of 75-year-old Clarence Parrish's murder have been revealed after this case moved from juvenile to superior court.
A Forsyth County judge ruled last week that 15-year-old Jon Fielding Adams will be tried as an adult. Monday, a grand jury indicted the teenager on a Second Degree Murder charge.
In October 2014, Forsyth County deputies found the body of Adams' grandfather near a wooded area at a house on Greenview Drive in Kernersville. According to a medical examiner, he died from blunt force trauma.
The murder might have been motivated by money, court records reveal. In one document, a Forsyth County Sheriff Deputy reported "Jon stated that he thought of the idea to kill his grandfather the day prior. According to Jon, He watched his mother struggle financially for about 5 years and thought that if he killed his grandfather, his mother would inherit the money."
The document also reveals how Parrish was murdered.
"At approximately 2100 Jon went to Parrish's address and parked his mother's vehicle in the driveway. He then called Parrish on the phone and asked him to come outside because he (Jon) had to ask him something. Jon turned the bright lights of the vehicle on so that when Parrish exited the residence he would not be able to see in the vehicle."
The deputy explained that Adams hid behind a freezer under the carport and once his grandfather was outside, ran up behind him and hit him in the head with a shovel.
The document reads, "Parrish fell down and Jon hit him approximately 3 more times. Jon then went inside the residence and grabbed a kitchen knife. He went back outside to where Parrish was lying and stabbed him in the neck with the knife. Jon then dragged Parrish's body to the wood line to the left of the residence."
Afterwards, Adams is accused of inviting a friends over for a party where they drank beers for "several hours." When someone asked Adams about the blood in the driveway, he told the friend it was from a deer his grandfather killed, according to records.
Adams was initially charged with First Degree Murder.
"The prosecution may have indicted under Second Degree Murder with the hopes of getting this case worked out because the defendant is only 15 years old, he's not eligible to receive the death penalty and if the State just indicted him on First Degree Murder, the defendant would have absolutely no incentive to plead guilty," explained David Freedman, defense attorney.
Freedman, who is not working on this case, says this charge might be a way to avoid trial.
If convicted, Adams could face between 12 and 25 years in prison.
"He's very young, and it's all family so they may have come together and decided, you know if he got 25 years, he would be 50 when he got out so that's a pretty significant punishment," said Freedman.
Adams' attorney has filed a motion to suppress evidence and is asking the court that any statements Adams made to law enforcement during his interrogation be banned from court. The attorney alleges Adams was questioned in an aggressive manner and says the teenager's statements were not made "willfully and voluntarily."
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