Dateline: The Devil and Bobbi Parker - 5 harrowing details about the Bobbi Parker case, revisited

Dateline is known for featuring some of the most bizarre true crime stories and the Bobbi Parker case is one of them. Currently presented by Lester Holt, Dateline is a news magazine reality legal show that gained prominence for showcasing true crime stories. The show has been airing since 1992 and it is one of the longest news magazine shows.

Previously, Dateline used to focus on general interest news, but it shifted to covering true crime after a few years. The show presents special weekend encore editions and two-hour features that often go in-depth and provide a portrayal of the crime being discussed.

Dateline: The Devil and Bobbi Parker, is just one of the special cases that the show covered. The series looks into the origins of the case and after refusing to tell her story for many years, Bobbi finally sat down with Dateline and told her part publicly. Here are five details about the case that are astonishing and surprising.

Dateline: The Devil and Bobbi Parker - 5 harrowing details about the case

Bobbi Parker (Image via True Crime Chronicles)

1. Bobbi Parker and Randolph Dial posed as husband and wife

Bobbi Parker first disappeared in 1994 when a violent murderer called Randolph Dial kidnapped her as he made an escape out of the prison. Bobbi Parker was the wife of a prison warden in Oklahoma and lived near the prison. The whole case begins on an astonishing note as Bobbi’s husband and her two daughters had been searching for Bobbie over 10 years. Astonishingly, Dial and Bobbi first posed as a husband and wife and gave fake names.

2. Randolph Dial was a manipulator, felon, and a painter

Interestingly, Dial was a charismatic felon and he often used to paint and create pottery. In Dateline, Bobbi confirms that she helped Dial’s pottery get sold and the two began talking to each other. However, Bobbie maintains that she was not comfortable with him and tried to keep a distance. Dial was so manipulative that he got the officials to let him start an arts program to raise money for inmate rehabilitation. This led to him being constantly present at the Parkers residence.

3. How Bobbi and Dial were found

Interestingly, a tip from America’s Most Wanted sent the police to Campti, Texas, where a local had seen a familiar face while watching the show. The police forced their entry into the mobile home and found Dial and Parker living under the names of Richard and Samantha Deahl and posing as husband and wife. Dial was arrested and he maintained that he abducted Bobbi at knifepoint when he escaped the Oklahoma prison. He also mentioned that he brainwashed Bobbi into staying with him.

4. Bobbi’s reunion with her family

Bobbi Parker had an emotional reunion with her husband Randy and her two daughters, who had also grown. Randy did notice some changes in her behavior as Bobbi would ask him before going to the bathroom or getting a drink from the fridge. When agents searched the house, they found various Valentine’s Day cards exchanged between the pair and residents mentioned that Bobbi was not happy. Further, Dial was fired from the chicken farm and Dial mentioned that his health was the reason.

5. Bobbi’s strange case of submission

Interestingly, Bobbi used to travel to a grocery store in Texas to get her paychecks and she could have easily went to the nearby County sheriff’s office but did not go. Dial also had a heart attack in 2004 and instead of leaving him, she stayed by his side and even wrote an emotional letter to him. Therefore, some people wonder that Bobbi had a Stockholm syndrome and was a hostage under Dial. However, others believe that she was an accomplice and helped him escape.

In 2008, Bobbi was arrested and charged with felony charges of helping Dial escape from prison. As the case reached trial after another three years, Bobbi was given a one-year sentence for aiding Dial’s escape and served six months before being released in 2012.