Wreaths buoy police in ’06 case
Posted on Sunday, December 23, 2007
MOUNTAIN HOME — For the second Christmas in a row, an evergreen wreath hangs on the door of the criminal investigation division of the Mountain Home Police Department, a gift from the family of a murder victim.
The wreaths are sent by relatives of Dr. David Millstein, who was stabbed to death 18 months ago. Millstein’s body was found June 18, 2006, at his home in a residential neighborhood near Twin Lakes Golf Course in Mountain Home.
No one has been arrested, but authorities insist an arrest will be made.
The Christmas wreaths “mean a lot to us, because we have that connection to the family,” Police Chief Carry Manuel said. “When we talk to them, we understand their support for our efforts to solve the murder of Dr. Millstein.” Millstein, 62, was a urologist in private practice at Mountain Home Urology Clinic and a member of the medical staff at Baxter Regional Medical Center. He was married, but his wife, Lois Parks, lived in Little Rock at the time of his death, authorities said.
However, they have said the crime was not random and the community at large was not in danger.
“It’s a complicated case, and it requires a lot of work,” said Lt. Nevin Barnes, a Mountain Home detective. “The support of the family is extremely important to our division.” Most of Millstein’s relatives live out of state, Barnes said. He speaks about twice a month with Millstein’s two sons from a previous marriage, Aaron and Richard. One son attends college in Arkansas, he said, while the other is a college student in Missouri.
Barnes is also in frequent contact with their aunt, Kathy Millstein of Boston, Mass., who is married to Dr. Millstein’s brother, Philip. Millstein sends the wreaths each year on behalf of the family. She declined to talk to a reporter for this story.
“Even though I’m a detective, there’s a human side to me, too, that feels compelled to talk to these boys and their aunt whenever they have questions,” Barnes said. “It’s difficult sometimes because I can’t tell them some of the answers to their questions. But I do the best I can, and they fully understand.” “I’ve never had to go through something as traumatic as these two young men have gone through. I’m just amazed at their resilience, and honestly, we get our energy and our determination from their family.” Millstein’s wife, Lois Parks, is also the widow of a Little Rock businessman who was shot to death a dozen years before the doctor’s slaying. Luther Gerald “Jerry” Parks Jr. was killed Sept. 26, 1993, as he drove his car on Arkansas 10 near Chenal Parkway. His death remains unsolved.
Officer Cassandra Davis, a spokesman for the Little Rock Police Department, said the Parks homicide remains an open case.
“They haven’t made very much progress on it recently,” Davis said. She declined further comment.
Barnes wouldn’t say if the two slayings are connected, but added, “I think once an arrest is made in either case, especially in our case, I think information will open and start rolling in” on both homicides.
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