Woman convicted in 1-year-old son’s death denied appeal by Alabama Supreme Court

MADISON COUNTY, Ala. (WHNT) — A Madison County woman’s petition for a review of her appeal was denied by the Supreme Court of Alabama Friday.

Aleisha Danielle Meyer Parker and Bradley Nathan Parker were both charged with reckless murder after the 2018 shooting of their one-year-old son which they both said was an accident, according to investigators. Both parents were arrested 12 hours after the child died at their home on Tybee Drive in Triana.

Aleisha Parker was found guilty of manslaughter by a jury on February 9, 2023, and on May 25, 2023, and was sentenced to 20 years in the Julia Tutwiler Prison in Wetumpka.

She appealed her conviction to the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals in July 2023, but it was upheld by that court a few months later.

On Friday, several justices within the Supreme Court of Alabama denied her petition for a writ of certiorari or order by which a higher court will review the ruling of a lower court.

Bradley Parker’s charges were dropped in October 2018 after Madison County District Judge Linda Coats said prosecutors didn’t have probable cause to charge him with reckless murder at a preliminary hearing.

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The judge also downgraded Aleisha’s charge to manslaughter following the hearing.

Bradley Parker said that he went downstairs that morning and saw his wife holding a gun near the child’s playpen, according to testimony given by Madison County Sheriff’s Office Investigator Jason Payne.

In an attempt to prevent his wife from hurting herself or the toddler, Bradley Parker told investigators that he tried to take the gun away, Payne said. The gun, a Smith and Wesson .38-caliber revolver, went off during the struggle, and Dante was struck by a bullet.

According to Payne’s testimony, the husband told investigators that Aleisha Parker had suffered depression in the past and threatened to hurt herself. He testified that forensic evidence pointed to Aleisha Parker as the one who pulled the trigger, killing Dante.

Payne also indicated that the pair had turned against each other, leading to the initial arrests of both.

Investigators testified Aleisha Parker changed her story several times on the day of the shooting as well.

Following the testimony, Judge Coats deemed the case a “horrible accident,” saying that there wasn’t probable cause to believe the husband was culpable or to charge the wife with reckless murder, a Class A felony.

Bradley Parker was released from jail following the judge’s ruling, however, he was indicted by a grand jury for reckless murder in April 2022. Court documents show he pled guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter in July 2023 and was sentenced to 10 years, suspended for three years.

Aleisha Parker has served just over a year of her sentence at Tutwiler Prison.

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