Marvin Parker sentenced in murder of Baron Braswell

By BILL FREEHLING

Date published: 1/9/2007

By BILL FREEHLING

The Fredericksburg teenager who killed a popular Spotsylvania County student-athlete last January will be sentenced today.

Marvin M. Parker II, 18, has a sentencing hearing scheduled at 10 a.m. in Spotsylvania Circuit Court. Parker pleaded guilty in October to the second-degree murder of Baron Braswell II.

Braswell, a 16-year-old junior at Courtland High School, was stabbed to death Jan. 20 at a CD-release party at the Howard Johnson hotel in Spotsylvania's Four-Mile Fork area.

Braswell was a star football player at Courtland and planned to attend college. His teammates dedicated this past season to him. His mother organized a road race in Spotsylvania aimed at preventing future teen violence.

Braswell's brother, Zachary, is now a sixth-grader at Spotsylvania Middle School and is expected to testify today. So are Braswell's mother and father.

Parker faces a sentencing range of five to 40 years. Judge Ann Hunter Simpson is scheduled to preside over the hearing.

Check fredericksburg.com this morning to get the result of the sentencing. The Braswell slaying was voted as the top story of 2006 by fredericksburg.com viewers.

According to prosecution evidence, two local women chaperoned the party that night for their 18-year-old sons, who were introducing a new rap CD. Two private security guards searched party-goers for knives or other weapons using hand-held metal detectors. Parker sneaked a folding knife past security and hid it on top of a ceiling tile after the stabbing.

More than 100 teenagers from the area were there. A rap song called "Knuck If You Buck" by the Crime Mob played several times, causing teens to jump and bump each other. During about the third playing, Braswell and a Fredericksburg teen fought. Braswell was knocked to the ground and kicked by several teens.

Four Fredericksburg teens have been convicted of a misdemeanor assault on Braswell; each got 80 hours of community service.

Parker was on the fringe of the fight but wasn't assaulted, according to the evidence. He stabbed Braswell in the heart while the 16-year-old was still lying on the dance floor, prosecutors have said. Braswell was also stabbed superficially in the upper right chest, contradicting an earlier claim that Parker was accidentally pushed into him.

Parker entered an Alford plea to second-degree murder, meaning he didn't acknowledge guilt but thought the prosecution had the evidence to convict him.

To reach BILL FREEHLING: 540/374-5424
Email: bfreehling@freelancestar.com

Date published: 1/9/2007