RANDOLPH - Jennifer A. Parks died suddenly on Sunday, July 31, 2005. She was 16 years old.Born in Livingston, she had lived in Randolph for 14 years. A student, Jennifer was also a member of Mt. Freedom Presbyterian Church, where she belonged to the youth group.Surviving are her parents, David and Laurie Parks of Randolph; her maternal grandmother, Mildred Brown of Dover; her paternal grandmother, Elaine Parks of Danville, Pa.; her paternal grandfather, Donald and his wife, Cheryl, of Elysberg, Pa.; her godparents, Richard and Donna Gratacos of Dover; and many aunts, uncles and cousins.Funeral services will be held Saturday, Aug. 6, at 10 a.m. at Tuttle Funeral Home, 272 Route 10, Randolph. Burial will be in Millbrook Cemetery, Randolph. Visitation will be Friday, Aug. 5, 2 to 4 and 6 to 9 p.m. at the funeral home.In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Mt. Freedom Presbyterian Church, P.O. Box 85, Mt. Freedom, N.J. 07970 or The National Center for Victims of Crime, 2000 M. St. NW, Suite 480, Washington, D.C. 20036.
Morris County Sheriff's officers emerge from behind the home of Jonathan Zarate, a suspect in the murder of 16-year-old Jennifer Parks, in Randolph on Monday.
The teenage girl, who used to love dancing in the rain, had been teased by at least one of the boys living next door. Then one day she told a neighbor things had changed. They had become friends. That was a couple of weeks ago. The young girl, always known for her exuberance, seemed excited that she had made new friends.
"They're in my pool," she said, according to Edna Jack, one of her neighbors in Randolph.
Jennifer Parks, 16, was murdered over the weekend by one of the boys next door, police were saying Monday.
The alleged killer is 18-year-old Jonathan A. Zarate who allegedly invited the girl over to watch TV and then stabbed and beat her before stuffing her dismembered body into a trunk while his parents slept upstairs. Police say that two juveniles, one identified as his 14-year-old brother, later helped him try to cover up the crime.
They were caught Sunday trying to dump Jennifer Parks'body from a bridge into the Passaic River.
Police say the body had been hidden in a trunk in the back of a Jeep Cherokee at the Zarate house on Saturday -- while the Zarate family held a birthday celebration for a daughter and while Jennifer Parks' parents went door-to-door asking neighbors if anyone had seen their daughter.
Donald Parks, Jennifer's uncle, who now lives in South Jersey, was sitting in a neighbor's house in Randolph Monday trying to hold back tears. He had come to Edna Jack's house to tell her about Jennifer. Jack already heard the news. TV cameras had been out in front of the house all day. She had been sitting on the porch, talking to reporters, remembering the little girl who grew up next door, remembering the way she loved to dance on the grass outside her house when it rained.
"I'll always see her that way," Jack said.
Donald Parks and his brother David, Jennifer's father, had grown up at 13 Old Brookside Road. It was their parents' house. They used to come by Edna Jack's house because they loved her lasagna. David Parks later took over his parents' house, Donald Parks said -- the house where Jennifer Parks grew up swimming in the back yard, jumping on the trampoline, babysitting for the couple across the street.
This used to be tight neighborhood, Donald Parks was saying Monday, the kind of place where everybody knew everybody else because it was so self-contained. Old Brookside Road wasn't a cut-through for traffic back in the late 1960s. It turned into a dirt road, he said, and then basically stopped. The road now is full of traffic during rush hour, cars lined up to turn onto Sussex Turnpike. Some of the neighbors along this small stretch of the road still know one another. They go way back. They have celebrated birthdays and other events together for decades.
Now, they are getting ready for a funeral.
Donald Parks said the family was going to pick out a dress Monday night for his niece's burial. He said he wasn't sure that he would be able to go into Jennifer's room without breaking down. He talked about some of the little memories he had of Jennifer -- the way she greeted him with a big smile, the way they had pillow fights, the way they jumped on the trampoline and she made fun of him because he couldn't keep up.
"We'll never have the big memories," Donald Parks said. "We won't see her graduate (from high school). We won't see her wedding."
He imagined that his niece one day might have worked with children, because she loved being around them. She invited younger children in the neighborhood to swim at her pool. Neighbors said Jennifer always was either reading books or writing short stories. Her uncle said she loved the Harry Potter series. He said she loved writing science fiction. She apparently loved imagining other worlds.
Kyle Kerlin, 15, who lives down the street, said Jennifer befriended him when he moved to the neighborhood a few years ago. She asked him to sit next to her on the school bus. She showed him around the Randolph Middle School. She helped Edna Jack carry in groceries. She was in a youth group at her church. And like every other 16-year-old girl, she couldn't wait to get her driver's license. She was counting the days.
"She told my (9-year-old) daughter she would drive her to an amusement park," Donald Parks said.
Susan Austin, Kyle's mother, said she was getting some sun on Saturday afternoon when she heard people singing "Happy Birthday" in Spanish next door at the Zarate house. By then, according to police, Jennifer had been dead for hours. Police said her body was not far away. Austin said the Zarates seem like a nice family. What else would anyone expect?
"It's Randolph, you know," she said.
The motives for the murder are still a mystery. Authorities said in court that the 14-year-old once threw a rock and broke the window of a vehicle owned by the Parks. That was two years ago.
Neighbors described Jennifer Parks, about to be a sophomore at Randolph High School, as a kind young woman. They described her as quiet and a little shy. They also said she sometimes was so full of joy, even when it rained, that she brightened up their lives. Jack said she seemed especially happy the past couple of weeks. She wasn't having any more problems with the kids next door. She had made new friends.
Morris County Sheriff's officers emerge from behind the home of Jonathan Zarate, a suspect in the murder of 16-year-old Jennifer Parks, in Randolph on Monday.
The teenage girl, who used to love dancing in the rain, had been teased by at least one of the boys living next door. Then one day she told a neighbor things had changed. They had become friends. That was a couple of weeks ago. The young girl, always known for her exuberance, seemed excited that she had made new friends.
"They're in my pool," she said, according to Edna Jack, one of her neighbors in Randolph.
Jennifer Parks, 16, was murdered over the weekend by one of the boys next door, police were saying Monday.
The alleged killer is 18-year-old Jonathan A. Zarate who allegedly invited the girl over to watch TV and then stabbed and beat her before stuffing her dismembered body into a trunk while his parents slept upstairs. Police say that two juveniles, one identified as his 14-year-old brother, later helped him try to cover up the crime.
They were caught Sunday trying to dump Jennifer Parks'body from a bridge into the Passaic River.
Police say the body had been hidden in a trunk in the back of a Jeep Cherokee at the Zarate house on Saturday -- while the Zarate family held a birthday celebration for a daughter and while Jennifer Parks' parents went door-to-door asking neighbors if anyone had seen their daughter.
Donald Parks, Jennifer's uncle, who now lives in South Jersey, was sitting in a neighbor's house in Randolph Monday trying to hold back tears. He had come to Edna Jack's house to tell her about Jennifer. Jack already heard the news. TV cameras had been out in front of the house all day. She had been sitting on the porch, talking to reporters, remembering the little girl who grew up next door, remembering the way she loved to dance on the grass outside her house when it rained.
"I'll always see her that way," Jack said.
Donald Parks and his brother David, Jennifer's father, had grown up at 13 Old Brookside Road. It was their parents' house. They used to come by Edna Jack's house because they loved her lasagna. David Parks later took over his parents' house, Donald Parks said -- the house where Jennifer Parks grew up swimming in the back yard, jumping on the trampoline, babysitting for the couple across the street.
This used to be tight neighborhood, Donald Parks was saying Monday, the kind of place where everybody knew everybody else because it was so self-contained. Old Brookside Road wasn't a cut-through for traffic back in the late 1960s. It turned into a dirt road, he said, and then basically stopped. The road now is full of traffic during rush hour, cars lined up to turn onto Sussex Turnpike. Some of the neighbors along this small stretch of the road still know one another. They go way back. They have celebrated birthdays and other events together for decades.
Now, they are getting ready for a funeral.
Donald Parks said the family was going to pick out a dress Monday night for his niece's burial. He said he wasn't sure that he would be able to go into Jennifer's room without breaking down. He talked about some of the little memories he had of Jennifer -- the way she greeted him with a big smile, the way they had pillow fights, the way they jumped on the trampoline and she made fun of him because he couldn't keep up.
"We'll never have the big memories," Donald Parks said. "We won't see her graduate (from high school). We won't see her wedding."
He imagined that his niece one day might have worked with children, because she loved being around them. She invited younger children in the neighborhood to swim at her pool. Neighbors said Jennifer always was either reading books or writing short stories. Her uncle said she loved the Harry Potter series. He said she loved writing science fiction. She apparently loved imagining other worlds.
Kyle Kerlin, 15, who lives down the street, said Jennifer befriended him when he moved to the neighborhood a few years ago. She asked him to sit next to her on the school bus. She showed him around the Randolph Middle School. She helped Edna Jack carry in groceries. She was in a youth group at her church. And like every other 16-year-old girl, she couldn't wait to get her driver's license. She was counting the days.
"She told my (9-year-old) daughter she would drive her to an amusement park," Donald Parks said.
Susan Austin, Kyle's mother, said she was getting some sun on Saturday afternoon when she heard people singing "Happy Birthday" in Spanish next door at the Zarate house. By then, according to police, Jennifer had been dead for hours. Police said her body was not far away. Austin said the Zarates seem like a nice family. What else would anyone expect?
"It's Randolph, you know," she said.
The motives for the murder are still a mystery. Authorities said in court that the 14-year-old once threw a rock and broke the window of a vehicle owned by the Parks. That was two years ago.
Neighbors described Jennifer Parks, about to be a sophomore at Randolph High School, as a kind young woman. They described her as quiet and a little shy. They also said she sometimes was so full of joy, even when it rained, that she brightened up their lives. Jack said she seemed especially happy the past couple of weeks. She wasn't having any more problems with the kids next door. She had made new friends.
RANDOLPH - Jennifer A. Parks died suddenly on Sunday, July 31, 2005. She was 16 years old.Born in Livingston, she had lived in Randolph for 14 years. A student, Jennifer was also a member of Mt. Freedom Presbyterian Church, where she belonged to the youth group.Surviving are her parents, David and Laurie Parks of Randolph; her maternal grandmother, Mildred Brown of Dover; her paternal grandmother, Elaine Parks of Danville, Pa.; her paternal grandfather, Donald and his wife, Cheryl, of Elysberg, Pa.; her godparents, Richard and Donna Gratacos of Dover; and many aunts, uncles and cousins.Funeral services will be held Saturday, Aug. 6, at 10 a.m. at Tuttle Funeral Home, 272 Route 10, Randolph. Burial will be in Millbrook Cemetery, Randolph. Visitation will be Friday, Aug. 5, 2 to 4 and 6 to 9 p.m. at the funeral home.In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Mt. Freedom Presbyterian Church, P.O. Box 85, Mt. Freedom, N.J. 07970 or The National Center for Victims of Crime, 2000 M. St. NW, Suite 480, Washington, D.C. 20036.
Morris County Sheriff's officers emerge from behind the home of Jonathan Zarate, a suspect in the murder of 16-year-old Jennifer Parks, in Randolph on Monday.
The teenage girl, who used to love dancing in the rain, had been teased by at least one of the boys living next door. Then one day she told a neighbor things had changed. They had become friends. That was a couple of weeks ago. The young girl, always known for her exuberance, seemed excited that she had made new friends.
"They're in my pool," she said, according to Edna Jack, one of her neighbors in Randolph.
Jennifer Parks, 16, was murdered over the weekend by one of the boys next door, police were saying Monday.
The alleged killer is 18-year-old Jonathan A. Zarate who allegedly invited the girl over to watch TV and then stabbed and beat her before stuffing her dismembered body into a trunk while his parents slept upstairs. Police say that two juveniles, one identified as his 14-year-old brother, later helped him try to cover up the crime.
They were caught Sunday trying to dump Jennifer Parks'body from a bridge into the Passaic River.
Police say the body had been hidden in a trunk in the back of a Jeep Cherokee at the Zarate house on Saturday -- while the Zarate family held a birthday celebration for a daughter and while Jennifer Parks' parents went door-to-door asking neighbors if anyone had seen their daughter.
Donald Parks, Jennifer's uncle, who now lives in South Jersey, was sitting in a neighbor's house in Randolph Monday trying to hold back tears. He had come to Edna Jack's house to tell her about Jennifer. Jack already heard the news. TV cameras had been out in front of the house all day. She had been sitting on the porch, talking to reporters, remembering the little girl who grew up next door, remembering the way she loved to dance on the grass outside her house when it rained.
"I'll always see her that way," Jack said.
Donald Parks and his brother David, Jennifer's father, had grown up at 13 Old Brookside Road. It was their parents' house. They used to come by Edna Jack's house because they loved her lasagna. David Parks later took over his parents' house, Donald Parks said -- the house where Jennifer Parks grew up swimming in the back yard, jumping on the trampoline, babysitting for the couple across the street.
This used to be tight neighborhood, Donald Parks was saying Monday, the kind of place where everybody knew everybody else because it was so self-contained. Old Brookside Road wasn't a cut-through for traffic back in the late 1960s. It turned into a dirt road, he said, and then basically stopped. The road now is full of traffic during rush hour, cars lined up to turn onto Sussex Turnpike. Some of the neighbors along this small stretch of the road still know one another. They go way back. They have celebrated birthdays and other events together for decades.
Now, they are getting ready for a funeral.
Donald Parks said the family was going to pick out a dress Monday night for his niece's burial. He said he wasn't sure that he would be able to go into Jennifer's room without breaking down. He talked about some of the little memories he had of Jennifer -- the way she greeted him with a big smile, the way they had pillow fights, the way they jumped on the trampoline and she made fun of him because he couldn't keep up.
"We'll never have the big memories," Donald Parks said. "We won't see her graduate (from high school). We won't see her wedding."
He imagined that his niece one day might have worked with children, because she loved being around them. She invited younger children in the neighborhood to swim at her pool. Neighbors said Jennifer always was either reading books or writing short stories. Her uncle said she loved the Harry Potter series. He said she loved writing science fiction. She apparently loved imagining other worlds.
Kyle Kerlin, 15, who lives down the street, said Jennifer befriended him when he moved to the neighborhood a few years ago. She asked him to sit next to her on the school bus. She showed him around the Randolph Middle School. She helped Edna Jack carry in groceries. She was in a youth group at her church. And like every other 16-year-old girl, she couldn't wait to get her driver's license. She was counting the days.
"She told my (9-year-old) daughter she would drive her to an amusement park," Donald Parks said.
Susan Austin, Kyle's mother, said she was getting some sun on Saturday afternoon when she heard people singing "Happy Birthday" in Spanish next door at the Zarate house. By then, according to police, Jennifer had been dead for hours. Police said her body was not far away. Austin said the Zarates seem like a nice family. What else would anyone expect?
"It's Randolph, you know," she said.
The motives for the murder are still a mystery. Authorities said in court that the 14-year-old once threw a rock and broke the window of a vehicle owned by the Parks. That was two years ago.
Neighbors described Jennifer Parks, about to be a sophomore at Randolph High School, as a kind young woman. They described her as quiet and a little shy. They also said she sometimes was so full of joy, even when it rained, that she brightened up their lives. Jack said she seemed especially happy the past couple of weeks. She wasn't having any more problems with the kids next door. She had made new friends.
Morris County Sheriff's officers emerge from behind the home of Jonathan Zarate, a suspect in the murder of 16-year-old Jennifer Parks, in Randolph on Monday.
The teenage girl, who used to love dancing in the rain, had been teased by at least one of the boys living next door. Then one day she told a neighbor things had changed. They had become friends. That was a couple of weeks ago. The young girl, always known for her exuberance, seemed excited that she had made new friends.
"They're in my pool," she said, according to Edna Jack, one of her neighbors in Randolph.
Jennifer Parks, 16, was murdered over the weekend by one of the boys next door, police were saying Monday.
The alleged killer is 18-year-old Jonathan A. Zarate who allegedly invited the girl over to watch TV and then stabbed and beat her before stuffing her dismembered body into a trunk while his parents slept upstairs. Police say that two juveniles, one identified as his 14-year-old brother, later helped him try to cover up the crime.
They were caught Sunday trying to dump Jennifer Parks'body from a bridge into the Passaic River.
Police say the body had been hidden in a trunk in the back of a Jeep Cherokee at the Zarate house on Saturday -- while the Zarate family held a birthday celebration for a daughter and while Jennifer Parks' parents went door-to-door asking neighbors if anyone had seen their daughter.
Donald Parks, Jennifer's uncle, who now lives in South Jersey, was sitting in a neighbor's house in Randolph Monday trying to hold back tears. He had come to Edna Jack's house to tell her about Jennifer. Jack already heard the news. TV cameras had been out in front of the house all day. She had been sitting on the porch, talking to reporters, remembering the little girl who grew up next door, remembering the way she loved to dance on the grass outside her house when it rained.
"I'll always see her that way," Jack said.
Donald Parks and his brother David, Jennifer's father, had grown up at 13 Old Brookside Road. It was their parents' house. They used to come by Edna Jack's house because they loved her lasagna. David Parks later took over his parents' house, Donald Parks said -- the house where Jennifer Parks grew up swimming in the back yard, jumping on the trampoline, babysitting for the couple across the street.
This used to be tight neighborhood, Donald Parks was saying Monday, the kind of place where everybody knew everybody else because it was so self-contained. Old Brookside Road wasn't a cut-through for traffic back in the late 1960s. It turned into a dirt road, he said, and then basically stopped. The road now is full of traffic during rush hour, cars lined up to turn onto Sussex Turnpike. Some of the neighbors along this small stretch of the road still know one another. They go way back. They have celebrated birthdays and other events together for decades.
Now, they are getting ready for a funeral.
Donald Parks said the family was going to pick out a dress Monday night for his niece's burial. He said he wasn't sure that he would be able to go into Jennifer's room without breaking down. He talked about some of the little memories he had of Jennifer -- the way she greeted him with a big smile, the way they had pillow fights, the way they jumped on the trampoline and she made fun of him because he couldn't keep up.
"We'll never have the big memories," Donald Parks said. "We won't see her graduate (from high school). We won't see her wedding."
He imagined that his niece one day might have worked with children, because she loved being around them. She invited younger children in the neighborhood to swim at her pool. Neighbors said Jennifer always was either reading books or writing short stories. Her uncle said she loved the Harry Potter series. He said she loved writing science fiction. She apparently loved imagining other worlds.
Kyle Kerlin, 15, who lives down the street, said Jennifer befriended him when he moved to the neighborhood a few years ago. She asked him to sit next to her on the school bus. She showed him around the Randolph Middle School. She helped Edna Jack carry in groceries. She was in a youth group at her church. And like every other 16-year-old girl, she couldn't wait to get her driver's license. She was counting the days.
"She told my (9-year-old) daughter she would drive her to an amusement park," Donald Parks said.
Susan Austin, Kyle's mother, said she was getting some sun on Saturday afternoon when she heard people singing "Happy Birthday" in Spanish next door at the Zarate house. By then, according to police, Jennifer had been dead for hours. Police said her body was not far away. Austin said the Zarates seem like a nice family. What else would anyone expect?
"It's Randolph, you know," she said.
The motives for the murder are still a mystery. Authorities said in court that the 14-year-old once threw a rock and broke the window of a vehicle owned by the Parks. That was two years ago.
Neighbors described Jennifer Parks, about to be a sophomore at Randolph High School, as a kind young woman. They described her as quiet and a little shy. They also said she sometimes was so full of joy, even when it rained, that she brightened up their lives. Jack said she seemed especially happy the past couple of weeks. She wasn't having any more problems with the kids next door. She had made new friends.
Family Members
Parents
