James Hagerty Parker, a 65-year-old male, was a resident of Lake Ozark, Missouri, where he worked alongside his wife managing the Riverview RV Park and Campground along the Osage Beach River. On November 8, 2017, authorities were called to the property following reports of gunfire. Upon arrival, law enforcement officers discovered the lifeless bodies of Parker and his wife, Sheri, inside the living quarters of the park's main office. Both victims had sustained fatal gunshot wounds. The violence at the campground that night was not limited to the office; shots were also fired into a nearby recreational vehicle, wounding a man inside who survived the attack.
Investigators quickly turned their attention to surveillance footage from the campground, which captured images of a man resembling a former tenant. The inquiry revealed that the suspect, identified as Gary Sweet, a 58-year-old man from Rolla, Missouri, had been evicted from the Riverview RV Park approximately one month prior to the shooting. Police theorized that the eviction served as the primary motive for the retaliatory violence. Following the identification, law enforcement located and apprehended Sweet, taking him into custody without incident.
The legal proceedings against Gary Sweet moved forward with prosecutors initially charging him with two counts of first-degree murder. During the course of the judicial process, the charges were adjusted, and in March 2019, Sweet appeared in court where he entered a guilty plea. He admitted to two counts of second-degree murder for the deaths of James and Sheri Parker, as well as two counts of assault related to the shooting directed at the other campers. This plea brought a conclusion to the criminal case, securing a conviction for the double homicide that claimed the lives of the campground managers.
