'Waiting for justice': Murder trial in Baltimore Co. postponed for months after prosecutor leaves for another job
BALTIMORE - The murder trial of Norman Albert Sr. was supposed to begin later this month in a Baltimore County court before the assistant state's attorney assigned to the case left for another job.
Just four weeks before Gary Parrish, 38, was set to stand trial for allegedly killing Albert, the trial was postponed, and a new prosecutor was given the case.
Albert's family was told they now have to wait until November.
"Four weeks before the trial, I got a phone call from the State's Attorney's Office that the trial had been postponed," son Norman Albert Jr. said.
Albert Sr., 91 years old, was found dead in his Perry Hall home on August 19, 2021.
"I lost my hero in life," Albert Jr. said. "My family is miserable. We're lost for words every day. I can't sleep at night. It's been a total nightmare, a disaster to me and my life."
Parrish, 39, has been charged with first-degree murder and first-degree assault in Albert Sr.'s death.
According to charging documents obtained the WJZ, Parrish knew Albert Sr. and did odd jobs for him.
Police searched Parrish's home and found shoes that investigators say tested positive for blood and Norman Sr.'s DNA, according to documents.
The motive still isn't known.
Parrish has been held without bond at the Baltimore County Detention Center since his arrest in December of 2021.
"Every day I wake up thinking about my dad and what happened to him," Albert Jr. said. "I think about the pain that he went through, how he must have suffered the night he was being murdered."
Albert Jr. now has to wait another six months to find out if the family will get justice for his dad's death.
"I have lost total confidence in the State's Attorney's Office in Baltimore County," Albert Jr. said.
Baltimore County State's Attorney Scott Shellenberger told WJZ it's important for a prosecutor to be ready, and that four weeks was not enough time for the new prosecutor to be prepared to try the case.
"My dad is dead and right now I'm in the battle of my life," Albert Jr. said. "I'm 70 years old and I'm in the battle of my life. I am waiting for justice."