Man accused of shooting child's mother

A man with no previous police record has been charged with shooting the mother of his 4-year-old child to death outside her Shelbyville apartment Monday night.

Residents of Forrest Hills Apartments, Neeley Avenue, heard gunshots and looked out to see Laura Parker, 26, lying in a pool of blood near her car, Shelbyville police said.

David E. Niles, 24, 196 Lucas Road, was pulled over by police within 5 minutes on Depot Street because his white Nissan Sentra matched a description of a car seen leaving the apartment complex, Detective Sgt. Brian Crews said. Niles is charged with first degree murder and unlawful possession of a weapon.

"About 8:30 p.m. we received a call of shots fired and a person down at Forest Hills Apartments," Crews said. "A vehicle description was given out. Lt. Jason Williams and Sgt. James Wilkerson spotted a vehicle fitting the description of the one that had just left the area on Depot Street and conducted a traffic stop.

"They described the car as being a white Nissan four-door," Williams said. "I saw the car and followed it to the Deery Street intersection where we stopped it.

"The driver was in possession of a handgun."

Williams said he and WIlkerson questioned the driver about where he was coming from.

"Jason asked if he was in possession of a weapon," Crews said. "He admitted he was in possession of a firearm. At that time the officers had no idea he was the suspect.

"Niles said he and his wife had been into it and he went into the country to fire some shots off. They began questioning him. He then invoked his right to an attorney and hasn't been questioned anymore."

Parker was shot in the apartment complex's parking lot as she exited her vehicle, Crews said.

Her body lay in front of her car next to a sidewalk bordering the parking lot, approximately 10 feet from the front door of her apartment. Officers were closely inspecting a grassy area in front of the apartment for signs of evidence.

"We're unsure how many times she'd been shot," Crews said. "The weapon was a 9 mm handgun.

"We don't know how close he was to her when he shot, no one saw the shooting, People heard gunshots, looked out and saw the car leaving."

Niles is married to another woman, police said, and has never been married to Parker.

"We have no record of any domestic violence calls involving Niles and Parker," Crews said.

"Evidence collected by Sgt. Bill Logue will be processed by the TBI and we hope to have more answers then. This was senseless murder...senseless."