MacDonald denied bond in Parish murder case

DAPHNE, Ala., BAY MINETTE, Ala. - The judge denied bond for Troy McFadden in the murder of Brianna Parish. A preliminary hearing will be set to take place within the next 3 weeks.

If convicted, MacDonald could face death sentence:

District Attorney Judy Newcomb said Troy MacDonald, the man accused of Briana Parish's death, will face life in the state penitentiary or worse: the death sentence, if he is convicted. "Charging documents show she had blunt force trauma injury as well as evidence of strangulation," said Newcomb. Newcomb said Parish was also raped or sodomized.

Autopsy reports have come back in the case, however, Newcomb would not reveal those findings. "It's an ongoing investigation, so I am not going to comment on the facts of the case, but this is a very horrendous crime and sad situation."

As for MacDonald, court reports said he has previously been arrested for auto burglary and twice for writing bad checks. Now he has a new charge: Capital Murder.

Macdonald's attorney said he will ask a judge tomorrow to release his client on bond, but Clark Stankoski isn’t optimistic the judge will agree.

That bond hearing is scheduled for tomorrow morning.

Request to have bond lowered:

Troy MacDonald will ask a judge to release him on bond. Defense attorney Clark Stankoski said he will make the request at a hearing scheduled for Wednesday morning in Baldwin County for 43-year-old Troy McDonald of Daphne. But he adds that he's not optimistic a judge will agree.

McDonald was arrested Monday in the slaying of 21-year-old Brianna Parish. She was found dead in Daphne two days after she disappeared from a bar last month. Stankoski declined comment on the charges. He said he is unsure how police are linking McDonald to the slaying.

Authorities say they've been working non-stop to bring her killer to justice. Captain Daniel Bell told FOX10 News, "This case has been a priority for the Daphne Police Department." On November 12th, Brianna Parish went missing. She was last seen at the Bay House Pub and police say the last person to talk with her was 43-year-old Troy MacDonald.

After an extensive search, Parish's father found her body hidden under debris in a Daphne Sewage Plant. Family members believed she was raped. "This murder was horrific and it brought an end to a young lady's life," said Bell.

Monday afternoon, MacDonald was arrested and charged with Capital Murder. Police aren't commenting on the motive or how Parish was killed. But they do believe there was a possible drug connection between Parish and the suspect.

"It's an ongoing investigation and a lot of details had to be gathered, lots of evidence had to be gathered." Officials are still piecing the investigation together. Autopsy and toxicology results have not been released. Many say Parish was a sweet, loving girl, who didn't deserve to die like this. It was a tragedy and at least now, her family is one step closer to getting justice," said Bell.

MacDonald is charged with capital murder, a charge which could involve the death penalty. He will have a bond hearing Wednesday.

The Parish family spoke with FOX10 News:

The family of Parish has been waiting for this day, for weeks now. FOX10 News spoke with her father following the news. The long-time person of interest is now a suspect charged with capital murder. "We're glad he's behind bars and can't hurt anybody else and it was a small closure for us to get him behind bars and hopefully he'll stay there for the rest of his life," said Brianna's father, Bruce Parish.

MacDonald was the last person to speak with Brianna, who was last seen at the Bay House Pub in Daphne. Her half-naked body was later found at the Daphne sewage facility on November 14th.

The Parish family says it doesn't want to comment more specifically about the arrest because the investigation is ongoing. "Well, we don't know much more than they have out there and they're supposed to keep us informed as best they can," he added.

Still, they say it's a step in the right direction. The family now hopes to move forward with the holiday season, while keeping Brianna on their minds. "This is her time of year and she enjoyed it and really loved it. Most of our joy was seeing her open presents and it was just her time of year," said Parish.

The Parish family is now learning how to live without their daughter during this time of year.