Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin R. Steele and Plymouth Township Police Chief Joseph F. Lawrence have announced the arrest of Austin Parkinson, 20, and Lana Lare, 20, both of West Norriton, for First-Degree Murder and related charges in the stabbing death of Chad Konata, 31, of Collingdale (Delaware County), on November 20th.
From the announcement:
At 5:46 p.m., Plymouth Township Police responded to a vehicle crash in the parking lot in the 400 block of Ridge Pike and found a deceased male, later identified as Konata, in the driver’s seat of a 2012 Buick sedan, which had crashed into a parked car. The victim appeared to have been stabbed multiple times. A joint investigation of the murder by the Montgomery County Detective Bureau and Plymouth Township Police revealed that the defendants arranged to meet the victim for the purposes of buying a quantity of heroin. Once inside the car, Parkinson and Lare stabbed the victim multiple times and stole eight bundles of heroin, which is fewer than 100 packets or doses of heroin.
The Montgomery County Coroner’s Office completed an autopsy of the body of Konata on Tuesday, Nov. 21, 2017, and opined that he died as a result of multiple sharp force injuries. The manner of death was ruled homicide.
“This murder today is another casualty of the far-reaching opioid epidemic we’re facing here in Montgomery County. This man was murdered for about $800 worth of heroin—$800,” said Steele.
Both are charged as follows:
- Murder in the first degree (the defendants did intentionally kill Chad Konata)
- Criminal conspiracy to commit – murder in the first degree (did conspire with each other to kill Chad Konata)
- Murder in the second degree (did kill Chad Konata during the commission of a robbery)
- Criminal conspiracy to commit – murder in the second degree (did conspire with each other to commit a robbery during which Chad Konata was killed)
- Murder in the third degree (in that the defendants did kill Chad Konata)
- Criminal conspiracy to commit – murder in the third degree (did conspire with each other to kill Chad Konata)
- Robbery (in that the defendants did in the course of committing a theft, caused serious bodily injury to Chad Konata)
- Criminal conspiracy to commit robbery (in that the defendants did conspire to commit a robbery of Chad Konata)
- Possession of an instrument of a crime (in that the defendants did possess a knife with the intent to imploy it criminally)
- Possession of a controlled substance (in that the defendants did posses heroin)
- Criminal conspiracy to commit possession of controlled substance (in that the defendants to possess heroin)
Austin Parkinson was also charged with:
- Unsworn falsification to authorities (in that the defendants, with the intent to mislead a public servant in performing his official function, did make a false written statement, which he did not believe to be true)
The Affidavit of Probable Cause details the investigation and the statements made by Parkinson and Lare. You can read it here. In the affidavit, Lare claims that she and Parkinson are married, but she has not yet changed her name.
Photos: Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office.