A Douglas County woman accused in the killing of her boyfriend is asking the public to help bankroll her defense, setting up a bitter split between her attorney and the victim’s family. Ambria Boyd says she is innocent, while Jamal Parker’s father says soliciting donations over the case is disrespectful. The defense fund is seeking $75,000.
According to WSB-TV, Boyd faces murder charges alongside Brittany Baker and Mario Barber in Parker’s death. Her attorney, Michael Sterling, said Boyd had “absolutely nothing” to do with the killing and will ultimately be cleared. Sterling also said the fundraiser is intended solely to cover legal expenses.
The case began May 15, when human remains were recovered from Dog River Reservoir along Highway 166. CBS Atlanta reported that the Georgia Bureau of Investigation later used DNA evidence to identify the remains as those of 37-year-old Parker, an Atlanta bartender and artist. Baker and Barber were arrested in June, while Boyd was taken into custody July 7 and remains held without bond, according to jail records cited by the station.
The arrests followed a multi-day search of a home in the Langdale Chase subdivision, a development that had already drawn attention from neighbors before investigators publicly connected it to the reservoir case. An earlier Hoodline report detailed the search and the uncertainty surrounding the investigation at the time.
Why The Defense Says Donations Matter
Sterling says Georgia prosecutors plan to spend close to $1 million pursuing the case and argues Boyd needs comparable resources to receive a fair trial. He also says Boyd has not been indicted and that a judge has not found probable cause, points he is using to defend her right to seek financial support. Boyd is the mother of a 9-year-old boy, and Sterling says every dollar raised will go toward her legal defense.
Victim’s Father Calls Appeal Disrespectful
Charles Parker, Jamal Parker’s father, has rejected the defense appeal and said asking the public to donate over such a violent death is offensive to the family. In an earlier WSB-TV report, he said the case has devastated his family and that he wants everyone responsible held accountable.
Case Remains In The Pretrial Stage
Boyd, Baker and Barber remain jailed as the investigation continues, CBS Atlanta reported. Authorities have not publicly disclosed a motive or fully described the alleged connections among the three defendants and Parker. The charges are allegations, and none of the defendants has been convicted in the case.
