Inset left: Abigail Molina (Bexar County Adult Detention Center). Inset right: Gilbert Parker (Obituary). Background: The Old Path Baptist Church in China Grove, Tex. (Google Maps).
In a chilling incident unfolding in Texas, a woman stands accused of brutally attacking her boyfriend with a hammer, rendering him unconscious at a church before allegedly attempting to destroy evidence, even as she claimed she had “nothing to hide.”
Abigail Molina, aged 32, faces serious charges including first-degree murder, theft, and tampering with or fabricating physical evidence with intent to impair, in connection to the death of 64-year-old Gilbert Parker. These details have emerged from court documents examined by Law & Crime.
Authorities took Molina into custody on Thursday, following the grim discovery of Parker’s body on January 18. The scene of the crime was at the Old Path Baptist Church in China Grove, a small town located just east of San Antonio.
Parker was found in a distressing state—unconscious, partially unclothed, and covered in what appeared to be dried blood. He was discovered in a tool shed that had been converted into his living quarters, according to an affidavit obtained by local ABC affiliate KSAT.
The garden shed also bore signs of blood, prompting witnesses to alert emergency responders and the China Grove Police Department. Despite being rushed to a local hospital and later moved to another facility, Parker, although periodically regaining consciousness, was unable to communicate.
Blood was also reportedly found in the garden shed, and witnesses called emergency first responders and the China Grove Police Department for help. The wounded man was brought to an area hospital — and later transferred to a different one — and though he apparently came in and out of consciousness, he was unable to communicate.
The following day, Molina contacted China Grove police and told officers that “she had nothing to hide and that it was an act of self-defense regarding an altercation that led to Parker’s hospitalization,” authorities said. It is unclear if police were already trying to get in touch with her.
Parker was declared dead on Jan. 20. An autopsy found that he had lacerations on his head, with one possible blow fracturing his skull bone and causing bleeding within his brain, the court document stated.
As police continued to investigate, they learned that Parker owned a cellphone, wallet, and 2002 Dodge Dakota pickup truck that were missing, KSAT reported. Investigators also claimed that members of the church went into the crime scene and cleaned up blood and other items belonging to Parker, including drug evidence.
Additional details came from an individual who apparently claimed that Parker had been dating Molina but that they “seemed to be in different places in the relationship, and that Parker was more involved and possessive.” They had had arguments in the past, the affidavit stated.
The day Parker died, authorities say his pickup truck was spotted near the home of a close friend of Molina. She allegedly attempted to spray-paint and sand the vehicle, had blood stains removed from it at a car wash, and then sold it for $300 in Houston, Texas.
Investigators spoke with Molina, and she “gave vague and scattered details regarding her relationship with Parker,” according to the affidavit. She reportedly recounted how she last saw the victim on Jan. 13, at a local smoke shop, where the two fought, though she would not go into detail.
On Feb. 1, someone who said their cousin had dated Molina called a San Antonio Police Department homicide detective and told them that the fight at the smoke shop escalated to Molina killing Parker, the local outlet reported. Another call came in the next day, with this caller telling them the murder weapon was in a stormwater drainage culvert, with investigators ultimately finding it in the form a construction hammer with a claw missing.
This absent claw would have been consistent with Parker’s skull injury, the affidavit added.
Law enforcement officers said they interviewed Molina’s ex-boyfriend, who told them she called him on Jan. 15, crying and asking for help. She allegedly “described being hit by Parker and ‘blacking out,’ and hitting him with the hammer repeatedly.”
Molina was arrested and booked into jail.
Parker was remembered in his obituary as a “man full of life and music.”
