GREAT FALLS — A man who was convicted of a 2018 murder in Great Falls was sentenced to prison on Monday.
James Michael Parker — who was convicted of killing Lloyd Geaudry — has been sentenced to a total of 65 years behind bars.
Court documents state that on March 23, 2018, Geaudry died as the result of a single sharp-force wound on his left lateral neck, which fractured the cervical spine and transected the left vertebral artery.
The investigation revealed that the fatal injury was caused by a tomahawk, which court documents state was bought by Parker on March 1, and which witnesses said he carried with him continuously.
The incident happened near the 2100 block of 16th Street South, when Parker and 10 other people, split into two groups, gathered for a fight. The fight was due to previous altercations between several people in each group.
During the fight between the two groups of people, a witness told investigators, he saw Parker hit Geaudry in the neck with what he described as a “hatchet.” The court documents state that Geaudry was killed almost immediately after the fight started.
During interviews with all of the people that were part of Parker’s group, they all indicated they did not feel that Parker was justified in using the tomahawk, as “they were getting the upper hand in the fight almost immediately, and the fight only lasted approximately a minute.”
Parker was sentenced to 55 years in prison for deliberate homicide; 10 years for assault with a weapon; and 10 years for tampering with evidence. The tampering sentence will run concurrent with the other sentences, meaning that Parker will spend 65 years in prison.
