A man who went on the run after killing two men had his location exposed after police officers managed to track him down with a simple but clever Google Maps search
The mystery behind the whereabouts of a man accused of a brutal double murder was solved thanks to a Google Maps image.
Leslie Todd Parvin had his hiding place exposed in 2010 after going on the run. At the time he was an army veteran who had done five overseas tours.
And ahead of the 15th anniversary of his appalling crimes, below we take a look back at the tragic case, and reveal how a simple Google Maps search cracked it wide open.
Double murder
Parvin, who was a father, had retired from the military when he was out drinking on July 30, 2010. He was with Edgar Lopez and Pablo Gutierrez-Guzman when an argument ensued during a small gathering. Parvin became so enraged that he pulled a handgun from his waistband and shot both Hispanic men dead.
It was later reported that Parvin had paid Lopez $200 (£158) for sex before the victim backed out of the deal, which may have resulted in the falling out.
He became the number one suspect after going on the run and his loved ones were reportedly shocked that he may have been involved.
His own dad, Leslie Todd Parvin Sr, told the press: “He helps his sons any way he can, whether grades, their studies, their way of life. He’s a good father.”
Google Maps
Witnesses at the crime scene in Richland County, South Carolina, noticed that Parvin had been driving a green Kia minivan. One witness even managed to provide police with a partial tag number from the van.
Believing he may have fled to Louisiana, cops began searching through licence plate records there, before discovering an address in a town called Columbia with links to Parvin.
Deputies searched the home on Google Maps and immediately noticed a green minivan parked in the driveway. It soon became clear that it was the same one as described by witnesses.
The police said: “When we Googled his address the vehicle was in the picture on the Google Maps. Once things started rolling they just fell into place.”
Verdict
Knowing they had their man, a relative is believed to have convinced Parvin, who had shaved his head and destroyed the minivan, to return to his home to South Carolina, before he was arrested and charged with the murders in August.
His father cited the stress of being in the army for 20 years – including serving in Iraq and Afghanistan – may have influenced the brutal actions of his son.
Parvin claimed he acted in self-defence and his attorneys said he was diagnosed with PTSD in 2007 after serving in Afghanistan in 2002.
However, a jury took more than two days to deliver a verdict of two counts of murder, and he was sentenced to 35 years behind bars.