Guilty Plea in Murder of Jodi Parrack
It has been eight years since 11-year-old Jodi Parrack went missing while cycling home from a friend’s house. Her body was later found, abandoned in a cemetery. But despite the exhaustive investigation launched by multiple law enforcement departments, it has taken almost a decade to convict the man accused of killing her.
Daniel Furlong, a 65-year-old resident of Constantine where Jodi lived and died, who was distantly connected to the family, was arrested and charged with murder in September of this year. At the time of Jodi’s death he wasn’t a suspect, and that continued for years afterwards. It wasn’t until Furlong attempted to kill another young girl, who escaped and made it home to tell her mother, that he became a suspect in Jodi’s killing.
Furlong has since confessed. “I put a bag over her head and killed her,” he told the court during his plea hearing. But that confession is the only one that’s going to get him convicted. Furlong’s plea bargain gives him complete immunity from any other charges, should he make any other confessions for crimes committed in St. Joseph County.
The reason behind this agreement, says the prosecutor, is to encourage Furlong to admit to any other crimes he may have committed between Jodi’s death and now. Something he would be less than likely to do if he were to face additional charges. And something that law enforcement would very much like him to do. If nothing else, it could bring some closure to parents whose little girls have been dead or missing for years, and perhaps help police close a few cold cases that have lingered…
The assumption that there are others is based on the fact that Furlong was only caught because the most recent little girl got away. According to her tale, she was enticed into Furlong’s garage, where he held her at knife point and tried to tie her up with extension cords. According to law enforcement, he fully intended to kill her.
And it was only when police stopped to compare the similarities between this case and that of Jodi’s that they made the connection. DNA was compared, an exact match was obtained, and suddenly a case that had puzzled police for years was closed.
Furlong has pled guilty to second degree murder, which is a life offense under Michigan law. St. Joseph County Circuit Court Judge Paul E. Stutesman has ordered that he be held without bail until the sentencing hearing. His sentencing is scheduled for January 11th.