Union County Man Convicted of Bludgeoning, Stabbing Wife to Death

A Union County jury has convicted an Elizabeth man of bludgeoning and stabbing his wife to death three years ago, acting Union County Prosecutor Grace H. Park announced Friday.

Reco Parks, 51, has been convicted of murdering his wife following an argument, Prosecutor Parks said. The body of Thysa Wilson, 45, was found two days lager, dumped outside the apartment Elizabeth apartment the two shared, in an attempt to make it look like someone else had attacked Wilson as she was coming home.

On Jan. 6, 2012, Police rushed to the Oakwood Plaza housing complex on Parker Road in Elizabeth on a report of a body found in a second-floor hallway of one of the complex’s buildings, according to Union County Assistant Prosecutors Albert Cernadas Jr. and Meghan Tomlinson, who prosecuted the case.

“A joint investigation by the Union County Homicide Task Force and the Elizabeth Police Department determined that Reco Parks had bludgeoned and stabbed his wife to death following an argument that had occurred two days prior to when her body was found,” Prosecutor Parks said. “He then dumped her outside of his own apartment in an effort to make it appear that she had been attacked and killed by someone else as she was coming home.”

The jury deliberated for a matter of hours over the course of two days following an approximately three-week trial before state Superior Court Judge Robert J. Mega, returning guilty verdicts late Thursday against Reco Parks in connection with the death Thya Wilson.

Reco Parks is expected to be sentenced to a term of up to life in state prison. Sentencing has been scheduled for Feb. 20.

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