Husband arrested, charged with murdering wife, unborn child.

Silas Parks is seen in this booking photo taken Wednesday following his arrest.

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Story Published: Jul 1, 2009 at 2:44 PM PDT

Story Updated: Jul 2, 2009 at 1:39 PM PDT

By Greg Meyer

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MOSCOW - The husband of a Moscow woman whose body was found in a burned-out apartment last week was arrested on murder charges Wednesday afternoon.

Moscow Police issued a news release saying 25-year-old Silas Parks was arrested and booked into the Latah County Jail, charged with murdering his wife, Sarah Parks, 28, and her unborn child. He was also booked on a charge of arson.

Sarah Parks' body was discovered in the couple's apartment at 904 Vandal Drive on the morning of June 24. A preliminary autopsy indicated she was suffocated or strangled before the fire started.

Police then launched a murder investigation.

The Latah County Major Crime Team took the lead on the criminal investigation, with help from Moscow Police, the Latah County Prosecutor's Office, the Idaho State Fire Marshall and the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.

Parks made an initial appearance in Latah County Magistrate Court late Wednesday afternoon and was charged with two counts of first-degree murder and one count of arson.

He is being held in the Latah County Jail without bond and is set for a preliminary hearing on July 14.

Prosecutor Bill Thompson said the maximum penalty on the murder charges is life in prison or death if there are aggravating circumstance and a $50,000 fine.

The maximum for arson is 25 years in prison and a $100,000 fine.

Court records say Parks told Moscow police that he pushed his
wife to the ground while enraged on at least three occasions.

(Associated Press contributed to this story.)

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