Murder Case Against Man in 1982 Killing Is Dismissed : Courts: Despite confession, the defense successfully raises questions about another suspect who was seen in the area when the Laguna Hills woman was killed.

A murder charge was dropped Wednesday against a mentally disturbed man after defense attorneys raised doubts about whether Orange County prosecutors had the right suspect in a 1982 slaying that may now go unsolved.

Orange County Superior Court jurors were dismissed on the eve of trial for William Parks, who was charged with murder after he confessed to killing Joan Anderson in Laguna Hills.

Defense attorneys won the dismissal after notifying the prosecution about another possible suspect who has a history of rape, had befriended the victim and was in the area when she was slain, said Deputy Dist. Atty. David Brent. That information does not exonerate Parks, but raised sufficient doubts, he said.

The case will remain under investigation, Brent said.

“I don’t know who killed the victim, and I feel really badly about that,” Brent said. “But we could not proceed in good conscience.”

Parks was arrested after he called police in Minnesota, where he was staying with family, and confessed to killing a woman in Orange County and leaving her in a burning car, Brent said.

A witness also identified Parks as resembling a man she saw running from the murder scene, Brent said.

Circumstantial evidence linking Parks to the crime included an incident that took place about a month after the killing. Firefighters responding to a burning vehicle found Parks standing nearby and naked. He claimed responsibility for that incident, Brent said.

Brent and Supervising Deputy Dist. Atty. Rick King, who heads the homicide unit, said they do not believe the system failed Parks. King credited defense attorneys with coming forward with the information.

“In our opinion, as prosecutors, we had a reasonable doubt, and charges were dismissed,” King said. “We did our jobs. I think the system worked the way it was supposed to.”

Earlier this year, the Orange County district attorney’s office suffered a string of cases in which prosecutors had to dismiss charges after discovering they had the wrong suspects.

In the most noted case, they charged a mentally disturbed man with arson after he confessed to starting the 1993 Laguna Beach firestorm. But an investigation proved he was in a Mexican jail when the fire was set.

Charges were also dismissed against several suspects arrested during Operation Roundup--a crackdown on gangs and drugs in Santa Ana--after defense attorneys argued that their clients had iron-clad alibis, such as being in jail in another state.

Criminal charges against Parks were suspended because a court deemed him not mentally fit to stand trial. Parks has spent much of the last decade receiving treatment at Patton State Hospital, Brent said. Charges were reinstated after officials determined he was now competent to stand trial.

Parks now returns to Patton State Hospital as a patient, Brent said.

The deputy public defenders representing Parks did not return numerous phone calls seeking comment Wednesday.

An investigation by Parks’ attorneys found that the man who had befriended Anderson was often seen driving her around south Orange County before her death, Brent said.

The killing also took place not far from the man’s home, Brent said. Prosecutors would not reveal that man’s name, but they said he is now serving a 36-year prison term for rape in an unrelated case.