Husband And Wife Charged With Murder After Body Found In Plymouth

PLYMOUTH, PA — A husband and wife have been arrested for the drug-related murder of a man whose body was found inside a car at a Plymouth parking lot this week, the Montgomery County District Attorney's Office announced.

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.

The incident occurred at around 5:45 p.m. on Monday when Parkinson and Lare arranged to buy heroin from Konata, police said.

Parkinson and Lare got into Konata's vehicle, which as 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.

Lare later told detectives that the plan was to rob Konata, according to an affidavit of probable cause. But once inside the vehicle, 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.

Bail was denied for both suspects and they were remanded to Montgomery County Correctional Facility. A preliminary hearing is set for Dec. 1.

Image via Montgomery County District Attorney's Office