Young Couple, Suspected In Montco Stabbing Death, Claim Innocence

PLYMOUTH TOWNSHIP, PA — The husband and wife accused of stabbing a man to death in a Ridge Avenue parking lot have pleaded not guilty, according to court documents.

Austin Parkinson, 20, and Lana Lare, 20, both face charges of first degree murder and related counts in the killing of Chad Konata, 31, of Collingdale. If convicted, the pair both face life sentences in prison.

The killing, which occurred in November, was allegedly part of a robbery gone wrong, police say. Parkinson and Lare had arranged to buy heroin from Konata, a drug dealer, and decided to steal from him.

At around 5:45 p.m. on the fateful night, Parkinson and Lare got into Konata's vehicle, which was parked in a strip mall lot on 410 Ridge Pike. The lot is in the Conshohocken section of the township, across the street from Outback Steakhouse.

However, something went wrong once the three were inside the vehicle. For some reason, Lare said Parkinson began stabbing Konata, police said.

After Konata had been stabbed multiple times, the pair grabbed eight bundles of heroin - about $800 worth of the drug - and fled the scene, police said.

Detectives followed a trail of blood at the scene and determined that one of the suspects would require medical treatment for whatever injury had been suffered. The blood was Lare's; she suffered injuries to her hand during the scuffle and was treated at Einstein Hospital. Police traced the same vehicle from the scene of the crime to the hospital, and connected it to a driver, Eric Koenig, who had taken the pair to the scene of the crime, according to authorities.

Both suspects remain incarcerated at Montgomery County Correctional Facility.

Images via Montgomery County District Attorney's Office