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Dad lunges at killer during sentencing
By CHRIS TISCH "I let them down," Dewey Brannon says. "And I let them down again by not getting to him. I would have killed him." BRADENTON -- As the prosecutor read the evidence against Larry Parks in a packed courtroom Friday, Dewey Brannon's face flushed red. Veins bulged from his thick arms and forehead. When the prosecutor recounted how Parks stabbed to death Sherry Brannon in her rural home, her husband's breathing grew heavy and deep. When the prosecutor detailed how Parks killed 7-year-old Shelby Brannon in an upstairs bedroom, the wood bench creaked under Dewey Brannon's tensed body. And when it came to 4-year-old Cassidy Brannon, who lived for hours after Parks left her slashed and scarred, Brannon couldn't hold it anymore. He sprang from the third-row bench and vaulted a wood railing toward Parks. Sheriff's deputies stood Brannon up and took him to the floor. He was led out of the courtroom in handcuffs. A few rows back, Dolly Meyer, Sherry's mother, screamed at Parks: "He murdered our babies." The outbursts offer a glimpse into why Parks was allowed to plead guilty to murdering Sherry Brannon and her two children Friday and was sentenced to life in prison. Sherry Brannon's family members didn't want to go through an excruciating trial that could have resulted in a death sentence for Parks. "It would be a horrible ordeal," said Bob Meyer, Sherry Brannon's father. So Parks on Friday admitted to the murders and was sentenced to three life prison terms. He will never be eligible for parole. The family also had asked that, as part of the deal, Parks give a full confession to the murders. He did that in a 67-minute interview with investigators on Tuesday. Parks, 47, of Myakka City, told the story in a cold, matter-of-fact manner, said Maj. Connie Shingledecker, who led the Brannon investigation. Parks told investigators he was using cocaine and crystal meth that morning, Sept. 16, 1999. He went hunting for hogs behind the Brannon property, hoping if he killed one that he could trade it for drugs. He came upon the Brannon home. He knew Sherry was alone. He planned to rob her for money for drugs. Parks knocked on the door and Sherry came to it. He told her his truck broke down, that he needed to use the phone. She opened the door a little, and he pushed her inside. He murdered her first. Then he killed the girls so they couldn't tell. "I was mighty high. I don't know why I done it," Parks told investigators, according to a transcript of the interview. Sherry had fought him, which paved the way to Parks' arrest. Scratches she made on his side left DNA evidence under her finger. And she apparently had grabbed at his front pocket, causing a piece of surveyor's twine that he carried to spill onto the floor. Just months before, the family had moved into their dream home in rural east Manatee County. But the couple decided to divorce, and Dewey Brannon moved to Sarasota to live with another woman. When Sherry Brannon and the girls didn't come to work and school that day, Dewey went to the house and found them. Cassidy died en route to the hospital. It was Sherry's 35th birthday. Sherry, who grew up in St. Petersburg, was a nurse at St. Anthony's Hospital, where patients and co-workers adored her. Shelby was shy and kind, Cassidy was vibrant and energetic. Investigators found the valuable clues Sherry had forced Parks to leave: the twine and flesh under Sherry's finger, along with bloody shoe prints. Six weeks later, detectives arrested Parks in connection with an unrelated sex crime. Investigators noticed Parks carried surveyor's twine. They found shoes in his home that matched prints left at the Brannon home. Then they matched his DNA to the piece of flesh found under Sherry's finger. Family members waited 2 1/2 years for a trial. But three weeks ago, Meyer approached prosecutors and told them the family may want to deal. Parks accepted the offer. Meyer said that while he wanted justice for Parks, he also wanted to know what happened. If Parks went to trial, he would never talk and the family would be left wondering. "It would be nice to get truth and justice, but they told me we can't get both," Meyer said. After the outburst Friday afternoon, Dewey Brannon was allowed back in the courtroom for sentencing. Circuit Judge Durand Adams found Brannon in contempt of court for his outburst but did not punish him. "Everyone in this courtroom has tears in their eyes because of you," Brannon, his shirt ripped from his struggle with deputies, told Parks before sentencing. "The only reason you're not dead right now is because I couldn't get to you. If I could, you would have gone straight to hell today." Brannon, who partially blames himself for his family's deaths because he left them alone in the home, later said he couldn't handle hearing the details of his family's murders. "This happened because I wasn't home," he said. "I let them down. And I let them down again by not getting to him. I would have killed him." Parks made no statement. He never looked at the Sherry Brannon's family. Parks' family members did not attend. They sent a written statement that says Parks is remorseful. Sherry Brannon's twin sister, Mary Nevitt, told Parks before sentencing that the family would fight through the pain, just like Sherry had fought him that morning. "We will heal and we will recover," she said. "Just remember every time that cell door closes behind you, three little girls put you there."
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From the Times state desk
From the state wire
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