John Parsons (born February 11, 1971) is a criminal from

Chillicothe, Ohio Chillicothe ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Ross County, Ohio, United States. Located along the Scioto River 45 miles (72 km) south of Columbus, Chillicothe was the first and third capital of Ohio. It is the only city in Ross Count ...

. He escaped from prison and was caught on October 19, 2006. He was wanted for an unlawful flight to avoid prosecution, escape, aggravated murder, aggravated robbery, weapons under disability, tampering with evidence and grand theft.

Murder

Parsons was facing capital charges for the April 21, 2005, murder of Chillicothe Police Officer Larry R. Cox following a gas station robbery. On that evening, Chillicothe police responded to a report of a car being stolen from a restaurant. Just 15 minutes later, chased by a Chillicothe police officer, the suspect bailed out of the car and took off running. At around 6 pm, as he walked from his parents' house to his own, off-duty Officer Larry Cox also took up the foot chase, and confronted the robber in an alleyway near Chestnut and North High streets. Cox was shot and killed in the alley. Several clues led investigators to John Parsons, whom police arrested July 10, 2005, and charged with the killing. He pleaded guilty and was given

Life in prison Life imprisonment is any sentence of imprisonment for a crime under which convicted people are to remain in prison for the rest of their natural lives or indefinitely until pardoned, paroled, or otherwise commuted to a fixed term. Crimes for ...

Escape

Parsons escaped from the Ross County jail on Saturday, July 29, 2006. He asked his mother for help in escaping, but she was arrested before plans could be made. Parsons made a rope from bed-sheets, newspaper and toilet paper, which he hid behind a brick in the wall of his cell. He used toothpaste and green and blue

Jolly Rancher Jolly Rancher is an American brand of sweet hard candy, gummies, jelly beans, lollipops, sour bites, and a line of soda put out by Elizabeth Beverage Company in 2004. It is currently manufactured by The Hershey Company. History Bill and Doroth ...

s to match the paint on the wall to disguise the broken mortar around the loose brick, which Parsons had carved out with a piece of metal from an air vent in his jail cell. As a fugitive, he was twice featured on the

Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...

television show ''

America's Most Wanted ''America's Most Wanted'' (often abbreviated as ''AMW'') is an American television program whose first run was produced by 20th Television, and second run is under the Fox Alternative Entertainment division of Fox Corporation. At the time of i ...

''. He appeared for a third time on that program on September 30, 2006, when he became the 484th fugitive listed on the FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list. After his escape there were numerous reported sightings of Parsons in heavily wooded areas near Chillicothe.

National Geographic Channel National Geographic (formerly National Geographic Channel; abbreviated and trademarked as Nat Geo or Nat Geo TV) is an American pay television television network, network and flagship (broadcasting), flagship channel owned by the National Geograp ...

transmitted the history of the escapes, in the documentary show '' Breakout''.

Captured

He was arrested without incident by members of the Ross County Tactical Assault Team at approximately 12:20 pm at a small shack near the Chillicothe city limits. A number of law enforcement tactical units converged on the location and planned the arrest to avoid injury to any law enforcement personnel or to Parsons. After being booked into the Ross County jail, Parsons was transferred to the

Pickaway Correctional Institution The Pickaway Correctional Institution is a state prison located in Scioto Township, Pickaway County, just outside Orient, Ohio, United States which mostly houses minimum and medium security inmates. PCI was opened as a prison in 1984 after the bu ...

Orient The Orient is a term for the East in relation to Europe, traditionally comprising anything belonging to the Eastern world. It is the antonym of ''Occident'', the Western World. In English, it is largely a metonym for, and coterminous with, the c ...

, southwest of

Columbus Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo''". It most commonly refers to: * Christopher Columbus (1451-1506), the Italian explorer * Columbus, Ohio, capital of the U.S. state of Ohio Columbus may also refer to: Places ...

. Parsons, who led local, state and national law enforcement on a three-month chase after his escape, stood before Judge Jon Corzine in Ross County Common Pleas Court shortly after 3 pm and pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated

murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person wit ...

and other charges. He was sentenced to life in prison without parole. He was involved in telling the story of the escape with the

. As of January 2020, Parsons is incarcerated at the

Toledo Correctional Institution The Toledo Correctional Institution (ToCI) is a state prison for men located in Toledo, Lucas County, Ohio, owned and operated by the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction. The facility was opened in 2000, and houses approximately 75 ...

Image gallery

Image:John Parsons1.jpg, John Parsons, probably a drivers' license photo Image:John Parsons3.jpg, Another mugshot Image:John Parsons neck tatoo.jpg, Tattoo on the back of John Parsons' neck depicts two nude angels facing each other. Image:John Parsons leg tattoo.jpg, Tattoo on John Parsons' left leg depicts a naked woman. Image:John Parsons shoulder tattoo.jpg, Tattoo on John Parsons' right shoulder depicts a skull. -->

References

External links

''America's Most Wanted''

{{DEFAULTSORT:Parsons, John 1971 births American escapees American people convicted of murder American prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment Criminals from Ohio Escapees from Ohio detention Fugitives Living people People convicted of murder by Ohio People from Chillicothe, Ohio Place of birth missing (living people) Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by Ohio