Police say digital clues helped connect Tryston Erickson to the deaths of Jeannie and Timothy Parker.
PROVO, Utah — A phone ping near Steamboat Springs helped police find a Utah man now ordered to stand trial in the shooting deaths of his mother and stepfather.
The digital trail is a central part of the case against Tryston Robert Erickson, who is charged with killing Jeannie Parker and Timothy Parker inside their Spanish Fork home in March 2023. Police say Jeannie Parker’s phone led investigators to Colorado, where Erickson was arrested after a pursuit in her missing car. Prosecutors also say Erickson’s own phone held photographs of the victims’ bodies.
Detectives began checking phone locations after officers found Jeannie Parker, 50, and Timothy Parker, 58, dead during a welfare check March 14, 2023. The couple had not shown up for work, and police went to their home near 1400 South and 2250 East. Officers entered through an unlocked window and found the Parkers in a basement bedroom, partially covered with blankets. Both had been shot. Erickson, who lived with them, was not at the house. Jeannie Parker’s Hyundai Elantra also was missing.
The phone data gave investigators a direction. Jeannie Parker’s phone showed a location near Steamboat Springs, Colorado, court records say. Police also knew her car was gone and that Erickson was not allowed to drive it. Colorado authorities were notified. Officers later saw the Hyundai near Kremmling, about 50 miles from the phone location. When they tried to stop it, police said Erickson fled. The chase ended in Grand County, where he was arrested and held before being extradited to Utah.
Police said the arrest produced more evidence. Officers reported finding a handgun in Erickson’s waistband and two more guns in the vehicle. They also said bank cards belonging to family members were in his possession. Erickson told investigators he had gone to Colorado because he wanted to drive, according to court records. He later admitted taking the car and phone, police said. When asked about the flight from police, he said he knew jail was coming and wanted “a little fun,” investigators wrote.
The most striking digital evidence came later, when detectives searched Erickson’s phone. Charging documents say the phone contained photographs of Jeannie and Timothy Parker after they were dead. The images were dated March 12, 2023. That was two days before officers entered the house. Police said the date matters because Erickson later claimed he last saw the Parkers at dinner on March 13. The photographs, if admitted at trial, could be used by prosecutors to challenge that statement and to place Erickson with knowledge of the deaths before police were called.
The scene inside the house gave investigators another layer of evidence. Officers reported about two dozen firearms throughout the home, along with bullet casings, bullet holes in walls, drugs, an open safe and blood residue on the stairs and downstairs hallway. Search warrant affidavits also described holes in drywall and bedroom doors, ammunition scattered through the home and prescription drugs that appeared to have been crushed. Court records said investigators believed someone had tried to clean blood and had placed bloody clothing in the laundry.
Those physical details are important because the charges go beyond the two aggravated murder counts. Prosecutors also charged Erickson with obstruction of justice, theft, abuse or desecration of a human body, three firearm counts and unlawful possession or use of a financial card. The obstruction count is tied to alleged efforts after the killings, while the theft count is tied to the Hyundai and other property. The abuse or desecration count reflects allegations about how the bodies were handled after death. Erickson has not been convicted of any count.
Witness information helped fill gaps around the timing. Timothy Parker was last seen leaving work in the afternoon on March 11, according to warrant records. Jeannie Parker missed work March 11 and March 13, and neighbors said she missed church March 12. Co-workers who texted Jeannie Parker’s phone received a reply saying she had found a new job. Police said the message seemed suspicious because she had not told co-workers about plans to leave or given two weeks’ notice. Investigators believed someone else may have had her phone.
Neighbors also told police they saw Erickson outside the home March 12, smoking a cigarette. That same date appears in the allegation about photographs on his phone. Prosecutors may use the two details together to argue that Erickson was at the home and knew what had happened before the welfare check. Defense attorneys could argue about the meaning of the timing, the handling of phone data or whether the evidence proves who fired the shots. Those arguments have not yet been tested before a trial jury.
The relationship inside the home also drew police attention. Timothy Parker’s co-workers told officers that Timothy had said he was trying to evict Erickson. Court records do not show that prosecutors have proven a motive, but they identify the alleged eviction dispute as part of the case background. Erickson had also been the subject of a missing-person call weeks earlier, when his mother contacted police Feb. 22, 2023, to report him missing. Police later said he returned home on his own. The court process has taken years because of competency proceedings. In early 2024, the case was delayed after a motion asked the court to determine whether Erickson was competent to stand trial. A competency finding does not decide whether a person committed a crime. It decides whether the person can understand the proceedings and help with a defense. After several hearings, Erickson was deemed competent in December 2025, clearing the way for the criminal case to continue.
Fourth District Judge Thomas Low heard evidence during preliminary hearings on March 18 and May 1, 2026. At that stage, prosecutors did not need to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. They needed to show probable cause that the charged crimes happened and that Erickson should answer for them in district court. Low found that standard had been met and ordered Erickson bound over for trial. The next step is an arraignment, where Erickson is expected to enter pleas.
The case now turns from evidence gathering to courtroom testing. Prosecutors are expected to rely on the phone ping, the photographs, the Colorado arrest, the condition of the home and the witness timeline. The defense will have the chance to challenge the state’s evidence, file motions and present its own case if the matter goes to trial. Erickson remains in custody, and his arraignment is set for June 10.
Author note: Last updated June 2, 2026.