State police Trooper Brian A. Eckert (left) and Luzerne County Det. Shawn Williams escort Harold D. Haulman III from magisterial district court in Butler Township on May 14. Ed Lewis | Times Leader
Harold David Haulman III charged with killing two women whose bodies were found in Butler Township
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A man who prosecutors say meets the definition of a serial killer after the bodies of two women were found in Butler Township was charged Tuesday with the killing of a Michigan woman missing since 2005.
Calhoun County, Mich., Sheriff Steve Hinkley in a video posted on their Facebook page reported Harold David Haulman III, 42, was charged with first-degree premeditated homicide in the death of Ashley Marie Parlier, 21.
Haulman is jailed at the Luzerne County Correctional Facility without bail on separate open homicide charges regarding the deaths of Erica Shultz, 26, and Tianna Ann Phillips, 25.
The body of Shultz and partial human remains of Phillips were found in a wooded area near Hobbie Road in Butler Township.
Haulman was first arrested by state police at Bloomsburg and Hazleton and Luzerne County detectives Dec. 27 when Shultz’s body was discovered.
Shultz, 26, of Bloomsburg, was reported missing by her sister on Dec. 6.
After Haulman’s arrest, he allegedly confessed to killing Phillips, 25, who was last seen in Berwick on June 13, 2018.
Court records say Haulman waited for Phillips’ body to decomposed and later returned to take her skull, rib cage and other bones he discarded in a dumpster behind a movie theater in Scott Township, Columbia County.
Haulman allegedly met Shultz and Phillips on dating websites.
During a court proceeding at magisterial district court in Butler Township on May 14, Deputy District Attorney Daniel Zola indicated Haulman is linked to the 2005 disappearance of Parlier near Battle Creek, Mich.
Zola also noted after the court proceeding Haulman served jail time for a murder in Germany in 1999, where he resided with his parents who were in the U.S. Air Force.
“If these situations don’t match the definition of what a serial killer is, then nothing does,” Zola said after the proceeding in May.
Investigators from Michigan attended the May court proceeding.
In the video message posted Tuesday, Calhoun County Sheriff Hinkley said Haulman “confessed” to having an argument with Parlier at a home when he assaulted her.
Hinkley said Haulman admitted to driving Parlier to a remote area near Battle Creek, Mich., where he struck her with a piece of wood until she dies and disposed of her body.
Hinkley said the investigation into Parlier’s disappearance involved Haulman had researched materials about serial killers and grave robbing.
“In early June of this year, Haulman agreed to assist in locating Ashley’s body. He was flown to Battle Creek, Mich., to attempt to locate the area,” Hinkley stated in the video message.
Hinkley said Parlier’s body has not been recovered.
“I’m pleased to say after 16 years, Ashley Parlier’s family can know justice is near. This investigation cannot have been successful without the joint assistance of the Battle Creek Police Department, Michigan State Police, FBI, Pennsylvania State Police, Luzerne County District Attorney’s Office, U.S. Veterans Affairs Police, U.S. Air Force and the Calhoun County Prosecutor’s Office,” Hinkley stated.
Hinkley stated Haulman resided in the Battle Creek, Mich., area from 2002 to 2009. He noted Parlier was pregnant when she was killed.