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Four suspects pleaded not guilty in Douglas County court following the gruesome murder of bartender Jamal Parker, whose body was dumped in Dog River Reservoir.
DOUGLAS COUNTY, Ga. - New court details emerged during a bond hearing for two suspects accused of participating in the horrific murder and dismemberment of a man in Douglas County.
Douglas County bond denial
What we know:
Judge Cynthia Adams denied bond for David Barber and Ambria Boyd during their court appearances. Barber entered a not guilty plea and requested a $25,000 bond, while Boyd pleaded not guilty. Boyd is the girlfriend of victim Jamal Parker. Prosecutors convinced the judge to deny bond for both defendants based on their prior records and allegations that both acted as parties to the crime.
Investigators believe Barber's cousin, Mario Barber, served as the gunman following an argument with Parker at a house in May. Parker was shot twice and stabbed five times before his body was dumped in the Dog River Reservoir.
Douglas County Assistant District Attorney Nelly Ndounteng testified that GBI evidence indicates Parker was decapitated while he was still alive.
Murder suspect David Barber stands handcuffed in a Douglas County courtroom during a bond hearing following shocking GBI disclosures regarding the decapitation and dismemberment of Jamal Parker in Douglasville, Georgia (FOX 5 Atlanta). Defense counsel addresses the judge alongside murder suspect David Barber during a bond hearing at the Douglas County Courthouse in Douglasville, Georgia, where bond was ultimately denied (FOX 5 Atlanta). Co-defendant Ambria Boyd stands in a Douglas County courtroom after entering a not guilty plea regarding her alleged role in the murder and dismemberment of her boyfriend, Jamal Parker, in Douglasville, Georgia (FOX 5 Atlanta). Ambria Boyd appears before a judge alongside her defense attorney during a Douglas County bond hearing following disturbing courtroom testimony about the May murder of Jamal Parker in Douglasville, Georgia (FOX 5 Atlanta). Ambria Boyd listens to courtroom proceedings in Douglas County Superior Court as prosecutors outline gruesome details surrounding the death and decapitation of victim Jamal Parker in Douglasville, Georgia (FOX 5 Atlanta). David Barber stands beside his attorney as Douglas County prosecutors present evidence linking multiple co-defendants to the murder and disposal of Jamal Parker at the Dog River Reservoir in Douglasville, Georgia (FOX 5 Atlanta). Court officials and defense counsel stand before Judge Cynthia Adams in Douglas County Superior Court as bond is officially denied for murder suspect David Barber during a hearing on October 5, 2026 (FOX 5 Atlanta). Douglas County Assistant District Attorney Nelly Ndounteng outlines graphic GBI evidence detailing the murder and dismemberment of Jamal Parker during a court hearing on October 5, 2026 (FOX 5 Atlanta). Defendant David Barber stands in Douglas County Superior Court where he was denied bond after being charged as a party to the brutal May 2026 murder of Jamal Parker, shown on October 5, 2026 (FOX 5 Atlanta). Family members of murder victim Jamal Parker react inside a Douglas County courtroom as prosecutors reveal graphic details surrounding his death during a bond hearing on October 5, 2026 (FOX 5 Atlanta). Co-defendant Ambria Boyd stands alongside her attorney in Douglas County court prior to being denied bond for her alleged role in the murder of her boyfriend, Jamal Parker, on October 5, 2026 (FOX 5 Atlanta). Handcuffed murder suspect David Barber listens as prosecutors request a bond denial based on his prior record and involvement in the dismemberment of Jamal Parker in Douglas County court on October 5, 2026 (FOX 5 Atlanta). Douglas County Chief Superior Court Judge Cynthia C. Adams presides over a bond hearing where she denied bond for two suspects accused in the brutal dismemberment murder of Jamal Parker on October 5, 2026 (FOX 5 Atlanta) Murder suspect David Barber is escorted by Douglas County Sheriff's deputies into a court appearance where he was denied bond after gruesome dismemberment details were disclosed on October 5, 2026 (FOX 5 Atlanta). Unidentified suspect search
What we don't know:
Authorities have not publicly identified the final suspect connected to the case, and officers continue searching for the individual.
Court officials have not scheduled a formal trial date for the defendants.
Murder victim Jamal Parker, whose body was discovered at the Dog River Reservoir in Douglas County following a brutal attack in May 2026, is pictured in an undated family photo provided on October 5, 2026.
Gruesome murder details
The backstory:
Much of the details revealed during the bond hearing came from co-defendant Brittany Baker, who waived her scheduled arraignment alongside Mario Barber.
Ndounteng revealed in court that Baker told investigators she believed Parker's hands were cut off after he died. Baker stated that Parker's head and hands were placed into two buckets—a Home Depot bucket and a white concrete bucket—before being filled with concrete.
Baker advised that the buckets were taken to a Marietta Airbnb that David Barber rented for the group. The following day, the buckets were gone, and Mario Barber allegedly told Baker that Parker was "swimming with the fishes." Phone location pings placed Baker and Mario Barber at her South Douglas County home in the upscale Windermere subdivision on May 12. The prosecution says the two spent most of the day cleaning up after the murder and recruiting co-defendants to help cover up the scene.
A Douglas County Sheriff's Office Crime Scene Unit van sits parked outside a home in the Windermere subdivision of South Douglas County during the investigation into the murder of Jamal Parker in Douglasville, Georgia (FOX 5 Atlanta). Douglas County Sheriff's deputies secure a residential crime scene in the Windermere neighborhood where suspects allegedly cleaned up evidence following the murder of Jamal Parker in South Douglas County, Georgia (FOX 5 Atlanta). Aerial news footage captures Douglas County Sheriff's investigators surrounding a home in the Windermere subdivision during a homicide investigation linked to the Dog River Reservoir murder case in Douglasville, Georgia (FOX 5 Atlanta). A Douglas County Sheriff's Office vehicle guards the perimeter of a South Douglas County crime scene where investigators uncovered details surrounding the dismemberment of victim Jamal Parker in Douglasville, Georgia (FOX 5 Atlanta). The exterior of a home in the Windermere subdivision in South Douglas County, Georgia, where investigators say co-defendants gathered to clean up evidence following the May 2026 murder and dismemberment of Jamal Parker, shown on October 5, 2026 (FOX 5 Atlanta). An aerial view shows the Dog River Reservoir in Douglas County, Georgia, where authorities recovered the body of murder victim Jamal Parker following his dismemberment, seen on October 5, 2026 (FOX 5 Atlanta). Distraught family reacts
What they're saying:
Parker's father and uncle attended the hearing and heard the detailed claims regarding his death for the first time.
"It’s overwhelming. It’s heart wrenching," said Parker's uncle, Darryl McCoy. "They should get the full extent of the law, should not be free for their behavior."
Jamal Parker, whose body was dumped at the Dog River Reservoir in Douglas County following a horrific murder and dismemberment, is shown smiling in a photo provided by his family on October 5, 2026 (Family Handout).
Parker's father, Charles Parker, voiced relief over the bond denial but expressed frustration over the legal timeline.
"The way it happened, the motive, what made them do it?" Charles Parker asked. "When the court date? I need to have this over with."
The Source: The information in this story was gathered from testimony presented during Douglas County court bond hearings by Assistant District Attorney Nelly Ndounteng, official GBI findings, and direct courtroom interviews with family members Charles Parker and Darryl McCoy.