On the crisp evening of November 8, 2007, the streets of Constantine, Michigan were quiet, familiar, and utterly ordinary — the kind of small-town place where a child riding a bike home from a friend’s house feels safe. But 11-year-old Jodi Parrack never made it back. What began as a routine disappearance would soon become a nightmare that fractured her community, led to a wrongful conviction, and only found resolution eight years later — but not before exposing deep flaws in how justice was sought.

This is the compelling, painful, and ultimately redemptive story of Jodi Parrack, the man who was falsely accused, and the real killer who hid in plain sight.

1. The Day the World Stopped

Jodi Christine Parrack was born on September 2, 1996, and grew up in Constantine, a rural community tucked into southwestern Michigan. (Wikipedia) She was a fifth grader, an energetic child who loved riding her silver Mongoose bicycle. On the afternoon of November 8, 2007, she left her friend’s house — as she often did — and began to make her way home, pedaling through familiar streets.

But that evening, something went terribly wrong. Jodi failed to arrive home. Hours passed. Her mother, Valerie Jo Gilson (sometimes reported as Jo Carver), realized something was wrong. A neighborhood search began, neighbors joined in, and by late at night the tension was unbearable. Around 10:30 p.m., a candlelight vigil later recalled, searchers found her bicycle resting near a tombstone in Constantine Township Cemetery, and then … her body.

The autopsy would reveal that Jodi had died of asphyxia by strangulation, and there was evidence of sexual assault. (Wikipedia) In that moment, the innocence of a small town shattered.

2. Immediate Aftermath: Suspicions and DNA

From the very beginning of the investigation, there was confusion, suspicion, and a profound sense of urgency. Jodi’s death was ruled a homicide, and investigators collected male DNA from her body — a critical piece of evidence, but one that would prove maddeningly difficult to match.

Among the first people to be questioned was Raymond “Ray” McCann II, a reserve police officer from Constantine. During the frantic search, McCann had suggested to Jodi’s mother that the cemetery be searched. That very suggestion made him a person of interest, triggering years of scrutiny. (Wikipedia)

What followed over the next several years was relentless interrogation. According to public records, McCann was interviewed nearly 20 times in the years after Jodi’s death, enduring more than eight hours of videotaped interrogation. Detectives leaned heavily into psychological pressure; McCann later claimed that investigators told him they had his DNA on Jodi’s body — a claim he said was false.

3. The Man Framed

In 2012, prosecutors subpoenaed McCann to testify under oath. They filed perjury charges, alleging that McCann had lied about his whereabouts and his actions during the search and the night of Jodi’s disappearance. The stakes were high: perjury in connection with a murder investigation in Michigan could carry life in prison.

McCann entered a no-contest plea and was sentenced to 20 months in prison. (Innocence Project) But even as he served time, he never admitted guilt for Jodi’s death — he maintained he was innocent and accused the investigators of misconduct.

In 2017, after serving his sentence and with the help of legal teams from the Michigan Innocence Clinic and the Northwestern Center on Wrongful Convictions, McCann’s perjury conviction was officially vacated. Prosecutors — including St. Joseph County Prosecutor John McDonough — agreed to drop the charges, conceding that the case against McCann was built on falsehoods. (Innocence Project)

McCann’s ordeal was more than just legal. According to his exoneration story, detectives allegedly told his family and friends stories about him — including claims that his DNA matched evidence from Jodi’s body (which it did not), and even lies about his behavior and character. (Northwestern Pritzker School of Law News) A review later found that some of those claims were baseless. (Northwestern Pritzker School of Law News) Feeling betrayed, his family fractured, his reputation destroyed.

In 2019, McCann filed a federal lawsuit against multiple investigators, alleging they manufactured evidence and coerced him into a plea deal. (FOX 17 West Michigan News (WXMI)) The wound ran deep: a man falsely accused had paid a steep price — both personally and publicly.

4. A Breakthrough from Horror

Eight years passed. The case remained open, and the DNA evidence still had no match. Hundreds of leads had been chased down. Investigators collected dozens of DNA samples from local men — but year after year, the mystery deepened.

Then, in August 2015, a horrifying twist: a 10-year-old girl from White Pigeon, a nearby town, came forward with a terrifying claim. She said she was lured into a garage by a man she later identified as Daniel Furlong, who attempted to tie her up with a weapon. (FOX 17 West Michigan News (WXMI)) The girl escaped and told police what happened. (FOX 17 West Michigan News (WXMI))

Authorities arrested Furlong. During the investigation, they collected his DNA. (FOX 17 West Michigan News (WXMI)) When they compared it to the crime scene samples from Jodi Parrack’s case, the match was exact. (ABC57)

That chilling discovery rocked the community.

5. The Confession

Once confronted with the DNA evidence, Daniel Furlong confessed. According to multiple news sources, he admitted that on November 8, 2007, he had “snatched” Jodi from her bicycle, dragged her into his garage, and sexually assaulted her. (Wikipedia) Court documents and media reports also say he bound her with zip ties, suffocated her with a plastic bag, and later drove her body to the cemetery, leaving her among the headstones. (Wikipedia)

Furlong’s confession was brutal and specific. He reportedly said he didn’t know her name at first — that he only learned who she was after the fact. (Wikipedia) The admission devastated Jodi’s family — but it also provided the hard evidence they’d waited years for.

6. Plea Deal and Trial

In November 2015, Daniel Furlong appeared before a judge and pleaded guilty to second-degree murder. (FOX 17 West Michigan News (WXMI)) Under the terms of the deal, more severe charges were dropped, including felony murder, unlawful imprisonment, and second-degree criminal sexual conduct. (FOX 17 West Michigan News (WXMI))

According to prosecutors, the DNA match was the linchpin. (ABC57) They argued that the evidence was overwhelming: Furlong lived near Constantine, knew the Parrack family to some degree, and his confession aligned with the forensic realities.

7. Sentencing: Justice at Last, But a Bitter Victory

On January 11, 2016, more than eight years after Jodi’s body was discovered, Furlong was sentenced in St. Joseph County Circuit Court. The judge imposed a prison term of 30 to 60 years. (FOX 17 West Michigan News (WXMI)) Given his age at the time — 65 — the judge noted it was highly unlikely he would survive to a possible release, calling the minimum “in essence a life sentence.” (WLKM Radio 95.9 FM)

During the sentencing hearing, Jodi’s mother addressed the court. According to reports, she said:

“For eight years I had to live my life every day not knowing who killed my baby … I never would have given up on that.” (FOX 17 West Michigan News (WXMI))

It was a moment of raw grief and quiet resolution. Justice had been slow — but it finally came.

8. Vindication for McCann

Ray McCann, exonerated in 2017, became a symbol of what can go wrong when investigators go too far. As his wrongful conviction unraveled, legal teams from the Michigan Innocence Clinic and Northwestern University’s Center on Wrongful Convictions played a critical role. (Northwestern Pritzker School of Law News)

They documented how McCann had been interrogated aggressively, how detectives allegedly used false statements — even telling him they had surveillance footage when they did not. (Northwestern Pritzker School of Law News) Prosecutors later agreed that the case against McCann was based on “fabrication” and “misinformation,” and dropped the perjury charge. (Innocence Project)

McCann was awarded his freedom — but the emotional and reputational scars deeply remained.

9. A Community Torn Apart

Constantine, a town of roughly 2,000 in 2007, was forever changed by Jodi’s death and the subsequent twists in her case. (Wikipedia)

Trust shattered: McCann had been a respected member of the community, even a bit of a hero in the search. But suspicion turned neighbor against neighbor.
Fear lingered: For years, parents couldn’t shake the idea that the killer might still live among them.
Media spotlight: Local news followed the developments closely; national attention followed later, especially after Furlong’s arrest and McCann’s exoneration.

The emotional toll was heavy. A community that once felt safe and tightly knit was left processing not just the murder, but a second betrayal — by its institutions.

10. Larger Questions: DNA, Ethics, and Justice

The Power of Forensic Evidence

This case shows how biological evidence can be both powerful and frustrating. The male DNA collected from Jodi’s body was critical — but for years, it matched no one. It wasn’t until Furlong was arrested for an entirely separate crime, and his DNA was collected, that the pieces fell into place. (FOX 17 West Michigan News (WXMI))

Investigative Misconduct

McCann’s exoneration raised serious concerns. The Michigan Innocence Clinic argued that investigative tactics — including detectives telling McCann his DNA had been found on the victim, when it hadn’t — constituted coercion. (Innocence Project) The Center on Wrongful Convictions criticized the role of deceptive interrogation, repeated questioning, and false evidence claims. (Northwestern Pritzker School of Law News)

The Burden on Small Towns

For a town like Constantine, the case was deeply personal. These weren’t nameless strangers — McCann was a neighbor, a volunteer officer, someone people saw in their daily lives. The tension, the accusations, and the eventual vindication left scars that couldn’t be easily healed.

11. Legacy and Reform

The aftermath of the case has had ripple effects beyond Constantine.

Legal reform: McCann’s exoneration is often cited in legal advocacy circles as a cautionary tale about how false confessions or distorted interrogations can destroy innocent lives. (Northwestern Pritzker School of Law News)
Cold-case persistence: Investigators and prosecutors have pointed to the Parrack case as an example of why cold cases must be revisited — and why forensic evidence must be preserved rigorously.
Community healing: Though trust was broken, some healing has begun. The exoneration of McCann, while not erasing his suffering, allowed for some form of public acknowledgment and accountability.

12. Unanswered Questions

Despite the arrest and sentencing of Furlong, some questions linger.

Other victims? Reports have linked Furlong to a “kidnap list” found in his home, as well as speculation about whether he could be tied to other missing girls, including Brittney Beers, a local child who disappeared in 1997. (Wikipedia)
Full truth? While Furlong confessed, the full details — exactly why that night, how he planned it, whether others helped — may never be entirely clear.
Institutional change: Will lessons be internalized by law enforcement and prosecutors? Can better oversight prevent another wrongful prosecution?

13. Why This Case Still Matters

The murder of Jodi Parrack is more than a cold case solved — it’s a deeply human story about justice imperfectly sought, innocence wrongly punished, and a community transformed by pain.

It’s a reminder that:

Forensic science is powerful, but not infallible. Evidence must be collected, preserved, and interpreted carefully.
Interrogation tactics matter. When investigators lie or exaggerate to suspects, they risk undermining the very justice they seek.
Persistence pays off. Investigators hadn’t given up on Jodi’s case, even after years of dead ends.
Victims’ families deserve more than closure. They deserve transparency, accountability, and truth.

Epilogue: A Promise of Justice

On a cold November night nearly a decade after her death, justice came for Jodi Parrack — but her story continues to resonate.

Ray McCann walked free, exonerated after a long legal fight. Daniel Furlong sits in prison, having confessed and been held accountable. Yet, the emotional and moral weight of what happened in Constantine lingers.

For a town that once felt safe, Jodi’s murder exposed vulnerabilities: in how trust is built, how investigations are conducted, and how communities support both victims and the wrongly accused.

May her memory continue to push for reforms, for accountability, and for a justice system that truly honors both the living and the lost.