1979 Lake Park murder suspect found through ties to new murder in north Florida

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - He lived for more than three decades under an assumed name in a small city north of Tampa, authorities said.

But a murder investigation involving the Citrus County man unearthed a connection to a 32-year-old Palm Beach County murder case.

On April 19, Citrus County authorities arrested Bob Jay Parsons of Inverness on a second-degree murder charge in the slaying of his 57-year-old girlfriend. But authorities say that Parsons' true identity is Jon Charles Black and that he is also wanted on an arrest warrant for a 1979 Palm Beach County murder.

Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Teri Barbera confirmed that Black - known to authorities at the time as Jon Good - is also suspected in the July 1979 murder of Charlene Nelson, a 29-year-old Lake Park woman. Nelson was found badly beaten and stabbed to death in a home she shared with Black.

Nelson's car was later found in Orlando with Black's wallet inside. He had not been seen or heard from since, Barbera said. At the time, a second-degree murder warrant was issued for John Good, who was described as being a 36-year-old plasterer. Multiple birth dates list Black's age today as either being 68 or 69.

A Citrus County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman said that detectives there were able to confirm Black's true identity through fingerprints on file from a Michigan arrest that occurred either in the late 1960s or early 1970s. Palm Beach County Sheriff's Cold Case detectives obtained the fingerprints and confirmed the match to Parsons today, Barbera said.

According to published reports, Nelson was a secretary who worked at Pratt & Whitney and lived with Black for about two years. Deputies found Nelson dead after she had been reported missing. She suffered multiple stab wounds to the chest and abdomen.

According to a Citrus County Sheriff's arrest affidavit, Black allegedly bludgeoned his girlfriend, Arlene Preg, to death earlier this month. The couple's adult daughter discovered Preg in the back yard of the couple's residence. The daughter told authorities that Black had previously told her that the medication he was on made him think of doing bad things. The daughter said she was concerned that Black would harm himself so she removed his firearms from the home.

Preg's death was determined to have been caused by multiple blunt force trauma to the head, the affidavit stated.