Georgia Man Accused of Shooting Wife Had Double Life
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ABC News(ATLANTA) — In the days after Adina Parson was shot eight times outside her Sandy Springs, Ga., apartment complex, her husband Michael was by her side, ever the concerned husband.
But in the hours he wasn’t spending with his wife, he was living with his fiancé in a motel room near the hospital, communicating with prepaid cellphones, according to a warrant obtained by ABC News’ Atlanta affiliate WSB-TV.
Michael Parson, 42, is charged with aggravated assault, aggravated battery, possession of a firearm while committing a felony, and giving false statements after the April 20 shooting of his 42-year-old wife, Adina Parson.
When Parson arrived at the scene and was told what happened to his wife, he told police he had been at the VA Hospital receiving cancer treatment, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.
That lie was the beginning of an elaborate tapestry that police began to unravel, exposing Parson’s alleged double life and leading to his arrest.
Parson’s fiancé, who was identified as “Rachel,” told police she and Parson had set an October wedding date. Rachel said she was misled and was told that Adina was her fiancé’s aunt, according to the warrant.
Ying Amat, Parson’s ex-wife, told ABC News she remained close to Michael and Adina Parson. She said she had never heard of Rachel and knew of no strains in the Parsons’ marriage.
“I don’t even know this woman. My children don’t know her,” Amat told ABC News. Amat has a 17-year-old son with Parson and a child from another relationship, who she said the Parsons treated as their own.
“This is not the Michael I knew. He was a good man, good dad,” she said. “[And] if there was anybody we could depend on, Adina was always there.”
But Amat said “all of the evidence” is hard to ignore.
Phone records placed Parson at the scene of the crime around the time Adina Parson was shot.
Police began to conduct surveillance on Parson and interviewed a friend, who later admitted he had been asked to pose as Parson in the emergency room at the VA hospital in Decatur.
“[He] did not know about all the lies that M. Parson had been living by and felt used by M. Parson,” the warrant said, according to WSB-TV.
A used firearm target, shell casings and ammunition were found after police executed a search warrant on Parson’s apartment and garage.
A warrant was issued on May 4 for Parson’s arrest, around the time police believe he fled the state.
Authorities caught up with Parson on May 5 near El Paso, Texas, after they traced him using financial records, according to the warrant. He is being held at Fulton County Jail in Atlanta.
Adina Parson is expected to pull through, Amat said.
“She was doing good, making progress last I heard,” she said. “We really miss her.”
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