Parker League Obituary – A suspect has been charged in connection with the death of an 18-year-old Nebraska man who was brutally killed, dismembered, and burned in a remote area of an Arizona national forest last year. Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell announced on Friday that 38-year-old Anthonie Ruinard Jr. has been indicted on felony charges of second-degree murder and abandonment or concealment of a dead body.
Ruinard, who is from Chandler, was initially arrested in July of last year and charged with first-degree murder and other offenses. Mitchell stated that her office’s experienced homicide prosecutors meticulously reviewed nearly 4,000 pages of evidence in this case before securing the indictment after five months of careful examination. A request for comment from Ruinard’s public defender regarding the case has not yet been returned. The victim, Parker League, was discovered in June at the bottom of a bonfire in the Tonto National Forest, located northeast of the Phoenix metro area.
Dental records were used to identify the victim. League’s family revealed that he had recently graduated from high school in Gretna, Nebraska, and had traveled to Arizona on June 9 to visit friends for a few days. Surveillance footage showed League and Ruinard leaving a gas station together on June 11, which was the last time League was seen alive on video. League’s body was found the following day, and investigators later discovered his blood in the trunk and on the rear bumper of a vehicle seized from Ruinard’s property.
Sheriff’s investigators were able to identify Ruinard as a suspect by analyzing surveillance video from various locations where League’s credit and debit cards were used. According to court documents, Ruinard, a former restaurant owner in Tucson, claimed that League sold him debit cards for $500, which he discarded after using. However, records also indicate that Ruinard admitted to using cocaine and marijuana prior to meeting League.
