Police: Marshall County High School shooter confessed and led us to the gun

CORRECTION: Court files were released after Kentucky Court of Appeals Judge Glenn Acree ruled a hearing for defendant Gabe Parker had been improperly closed and the case file should not have been sealed. Acree ordered the immediate release of the file on Thursday.

The 15-year-old defendant in the January shooting at Marshall County High School confessed and led authorities to the gun, according to newly released court documents.

Gabe Parker, a student at Marshall County High School in Benton, Kentucky, is accused of killing two 15-year-old classmates and wounding 14 others with gunfire on Jan. 23. He was arrested and is facing two counts of murder and 14 counts of assault.

Among the documents is an affidavit requesting a search warrant from Kentucky State Police detective David Dick on Feb. 27 in which he details some pieces of the investigation, including that Parker was recorded on video carrying out the shooting.

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The warrant states that Parker confessed, but does not provide any specific details. It also does not detail where the gun was found. 

Dick was requesting Parker's fingerprints to compare to those on the gun.

"Detectives recovered a firearm, spent shell casings, as well as other items at the scene," the affidavit states. "Said items were secured as evidence. Once DNA and prints are obtained from Parker these items will be sent to the Laboratory for comparison with the secured evidence."

Parker has pleaded not guilty to the charges, records show. The records indicate he is being held at McCracken County Juvenile Detention Center.

More than 90 pages of documents were released to the public on Thursday after lawyers for three media organizations filed two petitions arguing that a court hearing in the case shouldn't have been closed and it was illegal for the circuit court judge to seal the file. Kentucky Court of Appeals judge Glenn Acree ruled Judge James Jameson improperly closed the hearing and the file must be released immediately.

The three media organizations filed their petitions following his arraignment Feb. 16 in Marshall Circuit Court, which was closed to the media. Parker was charged as an adult at the arraignment.

Also on Thursday, Kentucky's chief justice rejected a prosecutor's motion to remove Jameson, who is presiding over the case. Chief Justice John Minton was responding to a motion by Commonwealth's Attorney Mark Blankenship that Jameson should be disqualified.

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Minton said Jameson should be allowed to stay on the case, though Minton said he had questions about whether Jameson had the authority to name a lawyer for 15-year-old Gabe Parker.

Blankenship alleged Jameson sent a text message to a Marshall County Sheriff's officer that was "an attempt to stop law enforcement's interview of the defendant." Those actions potentially made Jameson a witness and disqualified him from presiding over the case because of an "inescapable appearance of impropriety," according to court records.

Minton wrote that Jameson said the Commonwealth Attorney's Office was aware of his appointment and had no objection. He also questioned why his actions qualified him as a witness.

The Kentucky Chief Justice ruled in favor of Jameson, saying that the allegations did not meet the requirements for disqualification.

The three news organizations filed their appeal this month accusing Jameson of being "personally acquainted" with Parker's mother, improperly closing the arraignment, seeking to stop a police interview with Parker, and appointing a public defender for Parker before he had jurisdiction in the case.

Lawyers for the organizations also said the judge issued an unconstitutional gag order barring discussion of "any aspect of the case whatsoever" and improperly held a secret hearing to keep it confidential.

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In a response on Monday, Jameson's lawyers said the judge acted in accordance with the law by opting to close proceedings and seal records, labeling concerns over his conduct as "differences of opinions on legal matters."

Parker, a sophomore, was initially charged with two counts of murder and 12 counts of first-degree assault after authorities said he opened fire on a crowd in the commons area of the school about 10 minutes before first bell.

Police said he started shooting with a handgun at 7:57 a.m. and was taken into custody by Marshall County Sheriff Kevin Byars at 8:06 a.m.

Students Bailey Nicole Holt and Preston Ryan Cope, both 15, were killed in the Jan. 23 shooting. Twenty-one others were injured, including 14 who were shot.

Kentucky State Police, which is leading the investigation, has not offered many public details about the case, and declined to provide any details following the arraignment last month.

Parker's bond was set at $1.5 million.

Justin Sayers: 502-582 4252; jsayers@gannett.com; Twitter: @_JustinSayers. Support strong local journalism by subscribing today: www.courier-journal.com/justins.