Man sentenced to 40 years for deadly beating

A Baltimore County judge on Monday sentenced a Parkville man to 40 years in prison in the deadly beating of a 91-yearold.

In November a county jury convicted Gary Warren Parrish, 40, of second-degree murder in the 2021 death of Norman Albert Sr. The jury found Parrish was not guilty of premeditated murder.

After an emotional hearing Monday, Baltimore County Circuit Court Judge Judith C. Ensor ruled Parrish will serve the maximum sentence possible for second-degree murder.

A sheriff’s deputy escorted a relative of Parrish out of the courtroom after she yelled out during the testimony of Albert’s son, Norman Albert Jr.

“I understand that this is very emotional, but this is a solemn place where outbursts will not be tolerated,” said Ensor, before the woman spoke again and was removed.

Albert Jr. and his partner Joanne Stoner wore T-shirts with photos of the 91-year-old on the front and back as they addressed Ensor in court Monday and Albert showed framed photos of his father.

“I have not had one normal night of sleep since my dad was murdered,” Albert said.

A worker for Baltimore Gas and Electric, he said he regularly has to descend from poles with “13,000 volts” of electricity so he can cry in his car.

“Grown men are not supposed to cry,” he said. “I cry every single day.”

The couple still live two doors down from Albert

Sr.’s house in Perry Hall. Stoner decorates the lawn chair where her fatherin-law used to sit outside for different holidays. The 91-year-old’s car sits untouched in the driveway.

They have not been able to bring themselves to sell the home where firefighters found Albert Sr.’s body on Aug. 19, 2021, his son said. Parrish previously had done odd jobs for the older man.

Stoner said because her own father died when she was in her 30s, Albert Sr., whom she called “Pop,” was her father figure for 16 years.

“He was generous to a fault,” Stoner said of her father-in-law.

Parrish’s attorney, Assistant Public Defender Coriolanus Ferrusi, requested a prison sentence of between 12 and 20 years, which he said fell within sentencing guidelines.

“There’s no evidence of any motive that was presented at trial,” said Ferrusi, adding that Parrish did not gain anything from Albert Sr.’s death.

He said Parrish has been “unwavering” in claiming his innocence and suggested that maybe new evidence that would exonerate him would come to light in the future.

Ferrusi called Parrish’s lack of a criminal record “highly irregular” for someone convicted of such a serious crime. Since being incarcerated at the Baltimore County Detention Center in December 2021, he has recorded zero infractions.

Assistant State’s Attorney Daniel Trimble highlighted the “brutal nature” of Albert Sr.’s injuries and noted that the older man was small and frail when he was killed.