Police allege Jamal Parker’s girlfriend supplied a false suspect while concealing her connection to a person investigators were examining.
DOUGLASVILLE, Ga. — A homicide investigation that first produced charges against two Douglasville residents has expanded to include the victim’s girlfriend, who police allege gave detectives a false name while hiding information about her relationship with a suspect.
Ambria Boyd, 35, was charged in July with murder, making false statements and obstructing or hindering law enforcement in the death of Jamal Parker, according to warrants reviewed by Law&Crime and reporting by WSB-TV. Parker, a 37-year-old Atlanta bartender, was found in the Dog River Reservoir on May 15 but was not identified until June 15. Authorities had already been investigating Brittany Amber Baker and Mario Andre Barber, who were charged with murder after the identification. The addition of Boyd brings the number of defendants facing murder allegations to three.
The warrants allege that Boyd approached investigators claiming she had received information from an unknown caller. According to police, she said the caller identified a person who supposedly killed Parker and provided an address. Investigators later determined that the name was false, the warrants say. Police allege Boyd admitted she was friends with a person investigators considered an actual suspect and that she had been living with that person, a fact she had not initially disclosed.
Authorities further allege that Boyd and the unnamed suspect were with Parker a few hours before the time police believe he was killed. A murder warrant describes Boyd as a party to the crime that caused Parker’s death. The publicly available information does not specify what Boyd allegedly did beyond the claimed deception, nor does it identify the person described in the warrant as a principal suspect. Prosecutors will have to establish the basis for the murder charge in court. Boyd is presumed innocent unless proved guilty.
The third arrest changes the public understanding of a case that originally appeared to focus on Baker and Barber. When those defendants were charged in June, investigators had not publicly described Parker’s relationship with them. Officials also had not announced a motive or set out a full chronology of the killing. Boyd’s alleged presence with Parker shortly before his death offers one new point in the timeline, but it leaves open where the group was, what happened afterward and how Parker came to be at a Douglasville house investigators searched for several days.
That house, on Langdale Chase Street, had drawn attention before Parker was identified. Douglas County deputies executed a search warrant there in late May and remained at the property for four days. WSB-TV reported that investigators carried out a reciprocating saw, cleaning products and air fresheners. Authorities later said they believed Parker was killed at the residence. They have not released laboratory results, blood-evidence findings or other forensic details that would show how the seized items relate to Parker’s death.
Baker owned or lived at the house, according to local reports. Before the murder allegations were announced, she and Barber faced charges in an investigation involving suspected identity theft, forgery and drugs. Warrants cited by WSB-TV accused them of having stolen driver’s licenses and producing false identification cards, license plates and registrations. Authorities have not said that the alleged document scheme motivated Parker’s killing, and no public record reviewed for this report establishes a connection between the two investigations.
The initial murder charges followed a monthlong effort to identify Parker. Investigators recovered human remains from Dog River Reservoir along Highway 166 on May 15. Because the victim’s identity was unknown, the sheriff’s office released photographs and renderings showing distinctive tattoos. Charles Parker, the victim’s father, said a woman who previously dated his son saw the images and contacted him. He then gave detectives a DNA sample. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation confirmed the identity through comparison testing on June 15.
Authorities charged Baker and Barber the following day. Both entered not guilty pleas and were held without bond, WSB-TV reported. Boyd was also being held without bond after her arrest. Public reports did not list the defendants’ next court appearances, and it was not clear whether Boyd had entered a plea. The available reports also did not identify legal counsel for all three defendants, limiting the ability to include their responses to the allegations.
Although officials have provided few details about the killing, Parker’s family said it was told his body had been dismembered and portions were placed in the reservoir. Charles Parker said the condition of the remains meant his family could not hold a regular funeral. He also told WSB-TV that he wanted severe punishment for those responsible. The family’s account has become one of the clearest public descriptions of the harm caused, while law enforcement has continued to withhold graphic details and key elements of its evidence.
Parker’s relatives have sought to place his life at the center of the story. They described him as a professional bartender who worked at locations across Atlanta and was known by many customers and colleagues. A fundraising page created by an uncle said Parker was also a musician and visual artist who liked inventing drinks. The page described him as someone who loved life and the people he met. Family members attended court when Baker and Barber appeared and chanted, “Justice for Jamal.”
The false-information allegations against Boyd could become a significant part of the prosecution because they concern what investigators were told while attempting to reconstruct Parker’s final hours. Still, a false statement alone does not automatically prove participation in a homicide. Prosecutors would need to show why the statement was made, what Boyd knew and how her conduct meets Georgia’s legal requirements for party-to-a-crime liability. Defense lawyers could dispute the wording of the conversation, the interpretation of Boyd’s statements or the evidence linking her to the death.
Investigators also may face questions about how the separate pieces of the case fit together. The public record currently includes the discovery at the reservoir, the tattoo appeal, a DNA identification, a prolonged house search, alleged fraud activity and an accusation that Boyd offered a false lead. Authorities have not yet presented a single narrative connecting those events. That account may emerge through preliminary hearings, indictments, motions or evidence disclosed before trial.
The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office has said the investigation remains active. Officials have not ruled out additional charges or arrests, but they also have not said that more are expected. No motive has been announced, and the precise relationships among Parker and the three defendants remain only partly described. Until more records become available, the strongest confirmed developments are that Parker was identified through DNA, three people have been charged with murder and prosecutors now must show how each defendant is individually connected to his death.
Author note: Last updated July 18, 2026.