Murder & Suicide in Wabash
By: Marchelle McConnell
Updated: March 10, 2010
Monday night Ryan Hunt killed his girlfriend Jennifer Parrett during a domestic dispute. Hunt and Parrett dated off and on for 7 years. The couple had two children together, both boys ages 3 and 4. At one point, Jennifer Parrett filed a child protective order against Hunt, but later removed it.
Bruce Gross is Ryan Hunt's close friend and neighbor. He says Hunt was under a lot of stress. Gross says “He called me Sunday to talk to me and everything. I tired to talk to him for a while and then took him to talk to some other people. They talked to him for 2, maybe 3 hours. I thought everything was good. I didn't think he would ever do anything like this.”
But he did...and Gross says he was there when Ryan pulled the trigger. Gross says” I saw him cross the road and up top and had the gun drawn. He was sitting on the stump and the next thing I heard was the gun go off. That was a tremendous sight to hear.”
Police say Hunt shot himself as soon as police arrived on scene. Before killing himself, he made a phone call to someone, telling them he has just killed Jennifer. Jennifer was shot in her car. You can still see marks in the dirt from where her car ran into a tree stump.
Their two children were in the car and saw the whole thing happen.
Gross defends Hunt, saying he was a good father. “He loved his kids. That's all he cared about, was his kids.”
The children are currently with family. Custody will be decided in court. I was told both families will be fighting for custody.
