JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The man who in previously pleaded guilty to charges related charges in the death of a U.S. Coast Guard member was sentenced Thursday to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Tyree Parker pleaded guilty in July to charges of second-degree murder and armed burglary in the killing of Caroline Schollaert. According to the State Attorney’s Office, Parker faced a minimum of 25 years in prison with the plea.
Schollaert confronted Parker as he was breaking into cars outside her home in Riverside in August 2021. The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office said a 911 dispatcher was on the line when Parker shot Schollaert and ran off.
Schollaert was found unconscious in her driveway and was rushed to a hospital by first responders but later died. She was 27. Days earlier, her fiancé had asked for her hand in marriage.
On Thursday, her father, Pat, told the court what her killer took away from the family.
“All I have are my memories,” he said. “I will never get to walk my daughter down the aisle. I’ll never know her children.”
“I will never get to see the plans the Lord had for her,” added Schollaert’s mother, Maggie. “Because of a senseless act of violence.”
Several pieces of evidence, including surveillance video, were recorded near the scene that linked Parker to the crime. The Sheriff’s Office said he used a gun that had been reported stolen about a week before.
During court Thursday, Parker apologized for what he did.
“I just want to say, I’m sorry for what I’ve done. I wish I could bring a person back, but I can’t,” he said.
But the judge said listening to the 911 call was one of the most chilling things she’s heard in her life and showed no mercy on the sentencing.
Amid victim impact statements, Schollaert’s fiancé, Nathaniel Hendricks, recalled the morning of Aug. 3. 2021.
“I was awoken by gunfire in my home. I ran outside to see Caroline laying on the ground and rushed to her side to administer first aid,” Hendricks said. “I can still see her looking up at me.”
Schollaert was a member of the U.S. Coast Guard’s Helicopter Interdiction Tactical Squadron and was also a volunteer firefighter and EMT with the department for about three years.
Her friends and family say she always rooted for the underdog and advocated for women in the military.
“I will forever miss her embrace, her smile, her laughter, her love that she showered upon everybody that she knew,” Schollaert’s father said.
Members of Parker’s family were also inside the courtroom.
His aunt apologized to Schollaert’s family for the pain his actions have caused to her loved ones.