[MO] Officer gunpowder-on-his-hands Partee says he didn't kill wife Karla

Karla Marie Parker (Partee)

Learning about Karla's life and her death on September 2nd, 2001 for me is a journey that I'm not done with yet. I'm not fully satified and won't be for the forseeable future. I found one article and searched for almost two hours for another one - unsuccessfully. How could that be? I know how to find news. I was relieved after that time however to find a beautiful family memorial site, each page with a selected gospel song, packed with family pictures. There is no discussion of Karla's death there, but the article shows that there are family members challenging the finding that Karla committed suicide. (Karla's twin sister Karmen stands in the gap, full of faith with the joy that surpasses human understanding.) The recent news item was that a jury for the family's wrongful death lawsuit deadlocked and a new trial was ordered.

If I was Karla's sister I would have to rise up too. About newlywed Karla's death, from the one article:

"...Carla Partee died of a gunshot wound to her head. Nigel Partee admitted to Florissant police that the couple had quarreled after attending a wedding reception, and that the quarrel had escalated into a shoving match. He said she shot herself. He said he got gunshot residue on his hand when he tried to stop bleeding from the head wound..."

Yet retired St. Louis police officer Harold Mansfield, who the article cites as a firearms EXPERT, said there is only ONE way that the gunpowder residue could have gotten on Officer Partee's hands - and it not from stopping bleeding.

I have to bang a pot and a pan and say that there is no noticeable attention to this case, and there should be.

"...Florissant police applied for a warrant against him on a charge of manslaughter, but it was rejected by the prosecuting attorney's office. Nigel Partee was never charged..."

Love and blessings to Karla's family - who have no doubts where Karla is now.

(Note: Officer Nigel Partee works at St. Louis Community College, but the police there are not "security guards." They have state training and the powers of arrest.)

UPDATE.
NO NEW NEWS BUT ADDING MORE OF WHAT I HAVE NOW.

Karla Marie Parker Biography
http://karlamarieparker.tripod.com/id2.html

Karla Marie Parker Scholarship Fund
for Outstanding Business Students
http://karlamarieparker.tripod.com/id5.html

Kidney Donor Karla Marie Parker
National Kidney Foundation
1/31/72 - 9/2/01
During the short years of Karla's life she made a strong impact on a lot of people. She had a smile that you'd never forget. The love she had for Jesus Christ is the Cross and Bible. Her favorite flower was the red rose. She gave up her love for the piano for her devotion to God and Education. She always dreamed of owning a pink baby grand and she is our angel. She gave anything she had to others that were in need. Even in death she was still giving. Through her gift of life, her light will still shine. Her favorite Bible verse was 1 Corinthians 13:13. Gloria Parker - Kirkwood, MO
http://www.kidney.org/transplantation/donorFamilies/quiltPatchDisplay.cfm?square=BB0505

COUNTY JURY DEADLOCKS IN WRONGFUL DEATH SUIT
By William C. Lhotka
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
05/04/2006
Did Carla Parker Partee kill herself in the master bedroom of her condominium in Florissant in the early hours of Sept. 2, 2001, as the St. Louis County medical examiner's office concluded? Or did Nigel Partee, a campus officer at St. Louis Community College at Forest Park, fatally shoot his bride of six weeks, as some of her relatives have alleged? Those were the primary questions before a jury in St. Louis County Circuit Court this week in a wrongful death civil lawsuit against Nigel Partee by the dead woman's family. But after six hours of deliberations over two days, the jury of 10 men and two women told Judge Maura McShane on Thursday that they were hopelessly deadlocked. McShane declared a mistrial and said she would schedule the lawsuit for a second trial. Carla Partee died of a gunshot wound to her head. Nigel Partee admitted to Florissant police that the couple had quarreled after attending a wedding reception, and that the quarrel had escalated into a shoving match. He said she shot herself. He said he got gunshot residue on his hand when he tried to stop bleeding from the head wound... Florissant police applied for a warrant against him on a charge of manslaughter, but it was rejected by the prosecuting attorney's office. Nigel Partee was never charged. Karmen Parker, Carla's twin, testified under questioning by the family's lawyer, Harold Whitfield, that her sister would never have shot herself because she was "absolutely terrified of guns" and would never touch one under any circumstances. Under cross-examination by defense attorney Alan Mandel, Parker conceded that suicide is an irrational act. In closing arguments, Mandel cited the findings of Case - "one of the most respected medical examiners in the United States" - and pointed out to the jury that the victim had a past history of suicide attempts. He said that if the jury found Nigel Partee liable, it would "put a mark on him for the rest of his life that he intentionally killed his wife." Whitfield argued that Partee did exactly that. He cited the testimony of retired a St. Louis police officer, Harold Mansfield, a firearms expert. Mansfield said the only way Nigel Partee could have gotten gunshot residue on his hand was from handling the weapon. Whitfield alleged that circumstantial evidence showed that "Mr. Partee intentionally shot his wife, Carla Partee, in a spirit of anger." Whitfield sought damages ranging from $450,000 to $1 million...
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