LaFAYETTE, Ga. -- Georgia Northwestern Technical College criminal justice instructor Holly Wilson said the Sam Parker murder trial really hit home with her students.

LaFAYETTE, Ga. -- When Theresa Parker's mother, Claire Careathers, prayed, she told her daughter she wouldn't rest until there was justice -- and Thursday afternoon justice was served.

LaFAYETTE, Ga. — Sam Parker showed no emotion this afternoon when he was sentenced to life in prison for murdering his wife, Theresa Parker, in 2007.

LaFAYETTE, Ga. — Walker County Superior Court Judge Jon “Bo” Wood this afternoon read the “dynamite” charge, formally called an Allen charge, to the jury in the Sam Parker murder trial.

LaFAYETTE, Ga. — Jurors in Sam Parker’s murder trial reported “regress” rather than progress when they broke for lunch moments ago.

LaFAYETTE, Ga. -- No one knows who the waiting is harder on -- the lawyers, the investigators, Sam Parker or Theresa Parker's family.

The jury in Sam Parker’s murder trial ended the day without reaching a verdict.

LaFAYETTE, Ga. -- Longtime resident Gerald Gravitt said his city doesn't get major media attention, for the most part.

LaFAYETTE, Ga. —Jurors in Sam Parker murder case have come to a decision on three charges not related to murder, they told the judge this afternoon.

LaFAYETTE, Ga. -- Sam Parker's freedom is now in the hands of 12 jurors, who will continue deliberating today.

 After nearly three hours of deliberation today, the jury in the Sam Parker murder trial broke off for the day shortly before 5 p.m.

LaFAYETTE, Ga. —Jurors in the Sam Parker case broke off deliberations about 90 minutes after they began, asking to see some evidence.

Jurors in the Sam Parker murder trial will begin deliberating this afternoon in Walker County Superior Court.

Lawmen testifying in Sam Parker’s murder trial have given the public rare insight into Walker County’s cop culture.

LaFAYETTE, Ga. -- Over the two weeks of testimony in Sam Parker's murder trial at least a dozen law officers have spoken, giving the public rare insight into Walker County's police culture.

LaFAYETTE, Ga. -- Denise Parker told the jury Friday that her high school sweetheart turned ex-husband Sam Parker never abused her during their marriage of nearly 10 years.

Testimony ended this morning in Sam Parker’s murder trial after Mr. Parker declined to testify in his own defense.

LaFAYETTE, Ga. — Missing 911 dispatcher Theresa Parker’s youngest niece told a jury Thursday that she was so desperate for answers about her aunt she once tried to get a reaction from murder suspect Sam Parker by throwing fliers bearing his missing wife’s picture in his yard.

LaFAYETTE, Ga. — District Attorney Leigh Patterson rested the state’s case against former police officer Sam Parker this afternoon, after a morning of tearful testimony from Theresa Parker’s family.

Accused killer Sam Parker’s lawyer, David Dunn, asked Judge Jon “Bo” Wood today to declare a mistrial after Theresa Parker’s pregnant niece gave tearful testimony.

LaFAYETTE, Ga. -- Attorney David Dunn asked witnesses in the murder trial of Sam Parker on Wednesday if they were testifying against his client to pay back personal vendettas.

Prosecutors in the Sam Parker murder trial today called Mr. Parker’s ex-wife, Keila Beard to testify about two violent encounters she had with the former LaFayette police officer.

LaFAYETTE, Ga. — A few months after his wife disappeared, Sam Parker told a GBI investigator that his wife could be in Mexico.

LaFAYETTE, Ga. — A couple of days after Theresa Parker disappeared, her husband told investigators she was mentally unstable.

A taped interview of murder suspect Sam Parker is being played in court today during his trial.

LaFAYETTE, Ga. -- Former LaFayette police officer Sam Parker could make friends laugh until their sides hurt, but he also could scare his wife so much that she carried a gun for protection.

LaFAYETTE, Ga. -- Former LaFayette police officer Freddie Roden said he trusted his longtime friend Sam Parker before he was charged with murder, but now he isn't so sure.

Several of Sam Parker’s co-workers in the LaFayette Police Department testified this morning at his murder trial.

LaFAYETTE, Ga. -- The day before Theresa Parker disappeared, her husband said he was in shock about his divorce and still distraught about his father's death a couple of weeks earlier.

Theresa Parker’s mother, Claire Careathers, gave tearful testimony this morning about a threat she said Sam Parker made on her life.

LaFAYETTE, Ga. — Longtime local attorney William “Bill” Slack testified Wednesday that his friend Sam Parker did not seem unusual or nervous during their fishing trip the day after Theresa Parker disappeared.

 Lawyers in the Sam Parker trial questioned witness Shane Green this morning about his relationship with Theresa Parker.

LaFAYETTE, Ga. -- Former LaFayette police Officer Harbin "Ben" Chaffin said he "blubbered like a baby" after his friend and co-worker Sam Parker called him and said he'd murdered his wife.

LaFayette, GA. — Former LaFayette, Ga., police officer Ben Chaffin testified this morning in Walker County Superior Court that former Officer Sam Parker told him he shot his wife Theresa Parker in the head.

LaFAYETTE, Ga. -- Sitting behind his life-long friend in court, Bevin Walker said it is painful to see Sam Parker on trial for murder.

Two employees of a Gatlinburg, Tenn., lodge testified this morning that Theresa Parker stayed there the week before she disappeared.

Former LaFayette police officer Harbin “Ben” Chaffin has been given immunity from prosecution and will testify against his one-time co-worker Sam Parker.

Since Theresa Parker disappeared more than two years ago, her family has longed for answers.

After the state school board last week took special action to accommodate Gov. Sonny Perdue's request for teacher furloughs, some are wondering if legislators will need a special session to handle Georgia's worsening budget woes.

Teachers and administrators in Northwest Georgia said they feel many emotions as a new school year approaches and as they learn more about the impact of state budget cuts on schools.

This column topic recently spawned the following -- only semi-serious -- conversation:

LaFayette Middle School principal Mike Culberson said he could hear the worry in his wife's voice Tuesday when she asked him to come to Chattanooga Valley Elementary School, where she is the assistant principal.

"Here we go again."

DUNLAP, Tenn. — History has made Abraham Lincoln a man of myth, a fabled leader without flaw, said Sequatchie County High School teacher and historian Henry Camp.

School boards in Northwest Georgia will meet this week to deal with the governor's recent request for furloughs and more budget cuts.

A Catoosa County educator said it's a good thing that struggling high school students have another option -- a fast-track way to earn a passing grade in a class they are failing.

Parents and students in Walker and Whitfield counties still have time to decide if they want to attend a school outside their designated zone.

Even though Dade County School Superintendent Patty Priest planned for the possibility of furloughs, Gov. Sonny Perdue's request that teachers take three days off this year still took her by surprise.

Northwest Georgia educators today will be figuring out what to do about Gov. Sonny Perdue's request that teachers take three furlough days this year to cope with the state's looming $3 billion budget shortfall.

Heads up.