Havre de Grace Murder Trial Ends In Guilty Verdict: Police

HAVRE DE GRACE, MD — Police said that a 27-year-old from Aberdeen has been convicted of first-degree murder and other offenses in the death of a Havre de Grace man. A jury issued the verdict Thursday, Oct. 17, nearly one year after the homicide.

Joseph Daniel Parrish, of the 200 block of Schmechel Street in Aberdeen, was found guilty of first-degree murder, retaliation against a witness and using a firearm in a felony crime, police said.

The jury convicted him of killing Jeffrey Mark Coudon in November 2018, according to authorities.

Police said Coudon, 61, was found shot in the 200 block of North Washington Street around 9:30 a.m. on Nov. 11, 2018. A friend discovered Coudon in his apartment, WMAR reported.

He was taken for treatment to the University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center, where police said he died three days later, on Nov. 14, 2018.

"We hope this case brings closure to the family of Mr. Coudon, the victim of the homicide," the Havre de Grace Police Department said in a statement announcing the guilty verdict on Thursday, Oct. 17. "A big thank you to all the hard work of the Havre de Grace Police Criminal Investigations Division and the Harford County State's Attorney Office."

The investigation into the death of the 61-year-old Havre de Grace resident took months, and a break in the case reportedly came when the suspected murder weapon changed hands.

After Coudon died, his body was taken to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, who ruled the death a homicide.

About five months later, police charged two men in the case, including Parrish.

The other suspect was Robert Lee Zeman III, 33, who was charged with accessory to murder after the fact, participating in the straw purchase of a regulated firearm and trying to sell a regulated firearm while not being a licensee, court records show. He was arrested April 16, and the charges against Parrish were filed two days later.

Police identified Zeman as a suspect based on his involvement in an illegal gun transaction, according to The Aegis, which reported someone witnessed him telling a buyer the gun had been used to kill someone. He confirmed to authorities the gun used in the murder had been in Parrish's backpack, which he retrieved for him while Parrish was in jail.

Court records show that Parrish has been incarcerated since Dec. 14, 2018, after being charged with armed robbery, robbery, second-degree assault and theft less than $100 in a separate case on Thursday, Dec. 13, 2018.

Zeman's trial in the murder case is scheduled for Feb. 11, 2020, according to court records.