Steven Parkhurst – Life in Prison For the Killing of Trevor Ramella in 1992

Steven Parkhurst was 17 when he killed Trevor Ramella at a party in 1992 and was eventually charged with murder and other offenses; as such, he received life imprisonment as punishment.

At his parole hearing, Steven’s nerves took over and he could barely speak; after spending nine years being denied parole.

Early Life and Education

Steven Parkhurst was just 17 when he shot and killed Trevor Ramella, 20, at a party in North Smithfield, Rhode Island. Parkhurst had recently left a group home where his mother said he was running wild with friends.

Steven’s house-painter father moved his family to Eastside Okieville, an impoverished, white working-class neighborhood known for guns and drugs. Soon thereafter, Steven met and joined an outlaw motorcycle gang which introduced him to speed. Ultimately, this addiction turned deadly.

He’s now 42 and has been behind bars for more than 25 years, yet appeared before the parole board with 12 letters of support, an unblemished prison record, and an impressive list of in-prison accomplishments: earning associate’s and bachelor’s degrees; enrolling in an MBA program through Adams State University; training 14 dogs for disabled people, and participating in multiple self-improvement programs from anger management to victims advocacy.

Professional Career

Host Gerald Sanchez and Steve Parkhurst talk to one of the members of the 2000 Houston Cougars Super Regional team. He discusses growing up around baseball and shares memories from UH.

Parkhurst specializes in environmental health and safety, conducting industrial hygiene surveys, HAZCOM programs and asbestos projects on over 200 buildings with asbestos. He is an expert at air sampling and risk evaluation.

Since 2001, he has seen Bruce twice. Once in court and later when facilitating a prison workshop for kids looking into college. It was surreal seeing Bruce wearing a suit with graying locks doing such great work for the community; now working as a chiropractor in Cloquet Minnesota.

Achievement and Honors

At his 1992 murder trial, Parkhurst presented letters of support from family and friends, an exhaustive list of prison achievements, and his plan for continuing his college education and contributing to society after release from incarceration. Since then, he has earned associate and bachelor’s degrees, trained 14 service dogs for disabled individuals, taught a course on crime costs at high school level, and participated in various self-improvement programs.

Parkhurst was honored this spring as one of three SUNY Orange Conservatory faculty members to receive Excellence in Teaching awards, having made key revisions to the conservatory curriculum introducing students to music beyond classical canon.

He serves on the vestry at Saint Pauls Episcopal Church in Centreville, Maryland and works as a mortgage originator at First National Bank of Pennsylvania.

Personal Life

Steven Parkhurst, then 17 at the time, was sentenced to life imprisonment for killing Trevor Ramella at a party in North Smithfield in 1992. Parkhurst was found guilty of first-degree murder, conspiracy to murder, breaking and entering dwelling house and possessing stolen firearm while engaging in violent activity.

He sports a crew cut and dons his same khaki prison uniform each day – communism dictates this regimented appearance and consumption of identical clothing and food, according to him.

“Rick spent his early prison years in an overcrowded dungeon filled with people fresh off the street. He developed an aura as a tough guy who’d take care of anybody who mistreated him; most recently he broke into Uncle Rick’s car after stealing its radio.”

Net Worth

Steven Parkhurst began his violent career at age 17 by shooting and killing Trevor Ramella at a party, sparking numerous charges and prison terms against him.

Steven has spent much of his adult life behind bars. For killing Ramella in Rhode Island he received an initial life imprisonment sentence; later receiving another seven year term in Connecticut.

Steven has done much in prison to address his mental health needs and advance his education – earning a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice, training 14 service dogs for service, lecturing hundreds of high school students on how to avoid repeating similar mistakes that led them down this path, all the while feeling that he was wrongfully denied parole.