In the early morning hours of July 30, 2020, Michael Ray Harbour, a 35-year-old Black male, was shot and killed in the parking lot of an Omaha, Nebraska hotel. The incident, which also claimed the life of 36-year-old Nicole Hatten, was not a random act of violence but the culmination of a quest for revenge.
Surveillance footage from the hotel captured Harbour and Hatten leaving the establishment with another individual, Evelyn Lee, and the man who would be convicted of their murders,
John L. Parks, Sr. Shortly after they exited, gunfire erupted, leaving Harbour and Hatten dead.
The investigation into the double homicide quickly centered on Parks. Authorities discovered that just five days prior to the shooting, Parks' own son had been shot and killed in Omaha. The prosecution built a case arguing that Parks believed Harbour was connected to his son's death. This belief was allegedly fueled by images or videos Parks saw on Harbour's phone while they were in the hotel room. A witness, Evelyn Lee, testified that immediately after the shooting, Parks told her he had seen a picture of his son's dead body on Harbour's phone and believed Harbour "had something to do with son getting killed."
On May 7, 2021, John L. Parks, Sr. was formally charged with two counts of first-degree murder, along with several other felony offenses related to the deaths of Harbour and Hatten. Following a trial, a jury found Parks guilty on all counts. He was subsequently sentenced for the murders, bringing a legal conclusion to the tragic events that unfolded in the hotel parking lot.
