CLEARFIELD — After deliberating for about 3½ hours on Thursday, a jury found a Morrisdale woman guilty of murdering her estranged husband.

Danielle Elizabeth Parks, 38, was charged with criminal homicide (with choice of first- or third-degree murder), criminal conspiracy, recklessly endangering another person and tampering with evidence in connection with the shooting death of Kodey Lee Parks, 33, of Drifting, on Feb. 24, 2024, at a Morris Township home.

The verdict came during the fourth day of the trial from a jury of eight men and four women, who voted to convict her of first-degree murder, as well as the other charges.

The only testimony Thursday came from Parks herself, the only defense witness. She stuck to her story that she and co-defendant, Bryan S. Michaelis, 49, also of Morrisdale, did not plan to kill Kodey Parks, even breaking into tears during cross-examination.

As previously stated in police interviews, Danielle said during her testimony that Kodey chased her up the stairs and tackled her following a child custody exchange at her father’s home. She claimed she had the gun but lost it. Michaelis picked it up and the gun went off while he struggled with Kodey.

Her original story was that she alone wrestled with Kodey and she shot him.

Defense attorney Lance Marshall had her detail the troubled relationship that led to Kodey assaulting her and a protection from abuse order being issued against him in fall 2023.

Around that time, she began what she called a casual romantic relationship with Michaelis.

She admitted to bailing him out of jail shortly after receiving her income tax refund and taking him to a local store, where she bought a .22 caliber pistol, which turned out to be the murder weapon used the following night.

First Assistant District Attorney F. Cortez “Chip” Bell asked her if Michaelis had threatened Kodey while still in jail by saying he was going to get him “one of these days.” Danielle responded affirmatively.

She also admitted that after the shooting, she and Michaelis went to another residence, where she fired the gun so that she would have gunshot residue on her hands.

In his closing arguments, Marshall said that the commonwealth did not show a motive for Danielle to kill her estranged husband, but Michaelis did, as evidenced by the love triangle with him and Kodey. He pointed out that Parks had sent a text saying she still loved Kodey, just hours before the shooting.

Marshall noted that there was no plan for a murder because the custody exchange was planned quickly at Kodey’s request when she had made arrangements to go out of town that day.

“Brian acted alone, without Danielle,” Marshall said.

Dr. Harry Kamerow of State College, who did the autopsy on Kodey, testified that he was hit by five .22 caliber bullets, shot at a downward angle, as if Michaelis shot Kodey as he went up the stairs.

District Attorney Ryan Sayers explained the shots hit him first in the chest, then in the neck as he fell, and then three times while he was on the ground.

He pointed to the size of the hallway where the confrontation occurred, which is only three feet and eight inches wide. With three people there, somehow there were no marks or signs of a struggle.

“This was not a struggle. It was an execution,” Sayers stated.

Parks, who is facing a life sentence, will be sentenced within 60 days.

Michaelis is scheduled for trial at the end of April.