A Worcester jury convicted Jami Parker of voluntary manslaughter, not murder, in the shooting death of Jeffrey Carr.

A voluntary manslaughter verdict rejects both the first-degree murder conviction prosecutors sought and the full self-defense acquittal the defense sought. The Telegram & Gazette reported the judge has wide discretion at sentencing, from probation to up to 20 years in prison. Sentencing has not happened, and the reporting used here does not describe an appeal.

The Worcester Telegram & Gazette reported that a Worcester Superior Court jury of eight women and four men found Jami Parker guilty of voluntary manslaughter at 12:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2026, after deliberating for about two days. Prosecutors had asked the jury to convict Parker of first-degree murder in the death of her boyfriend, Jeffrey Carr, 53, who died of a single gunshot wound to the head at their 888 Main St. home in Leominster around 10:30 p.m. on May 1, 2024. The paper reported Parker wept silently as the verdict was read. A verdict on a lesser offense is the jury's decision on the evidence. It is not the murder conviction the Commonwealth requested.

Boston 25 News reported in May 2024 that Leominster District Court documents showed Parker, then 28, was arrested after requesting an ambulance for Carr, and that officers found him on the kitchen floor. Boston 25 News reported that her court-appointed attorney at the time said she was a sergeant in the Army National Guard and had never been in legal trouble. The Telegram & Gazette reported that Parker, who did not testify at trial, argued through her lawyers that she acted in self-defense, pointing to a 911 call in which she was distraught and told a dispatcher she had been defending herself. The paper reported Parker told police she got her gun after Carr choked her during an argument and shot him when he rushed toward her. Her lawyers described the shooting as an escalation of past abuse, said postpartum depression and mental health issues affected her perception of fear that night, and noted Carr had a blood-alcohol level of .19, the paper reported.

Prosecutors argued that the blood evidence and the position of Carr's body did not line up with an account they said changed over time, the Telegram & Gazette reported. The paper reported they argued Parker shot Carr out of anger over problems in the relationship, pointed to angry texts she sent him days before his death, noted she had stopped pursuing two domestic violence cases she had initiated against him, and said she had no visible injuries and a physician assistant found no evidence of neck trauma. Defense lawyer Jacqueline Dutton told jurors in closing that if they found the force excessive, manslaughter would be the appropriate verdict. "She felt that firing that gun was the only way she could save herself," Dutton said, according to the paper. "She's not guilty of murder." Those were the competing arguments. The verdict is what the jury decided.

Defense lawyer Michael Hussey told the Telegram & Gazette that while the defense had hoped for a complete acquittal, the verdict reflected a "conscientious and attentive" jury and was "more consistent with justice" than a murder finding. The paper reported that Carr's family members and Parker's father declined to comment. A sentencing date was not immediately set. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.