Tucson restaurant owner indicted in stabbing of Nebraska teen in Tonto National Forest
County Attorney Rachel Mitchell announced on Friday that a suspect accused of fatally stabbing, decapitating, and dismembering a teenager in the Tonto National Forest last summer has been indicted by a Maricopa County grand jury.
According to court records, Anthonie Ruinard Jr., 38, of Chandler, has been charged in the death of Parker League, an 18-year-old from Nebraska. League's remains were found in a bonfire pile in an area of Bulldog Canyon known as "the pit" on June 13. The County Attorney's Office stated that League, who was dismembered and burned "beyond recognition" after dying on or around June 12, was identified using dental records.
Ruinard, the former owner of the now-closed Tucson restaurant Pastiche Modern Eatery, was arrested in July after League’s DNA was found in a bloodstain in his vehicle. Recently, he was indicted by a grand jury for second-degree murder, a Class One felony, and abandonment or concealment of a dead body, a Class Five felony, according to Mitchell’s office.
“Experienced homicide prosecutors in my office combed through nearly 4,000 pages of material submitted in this homicide case,” Mitchell said in a Friday press release. “After five months of careful review, we were able to secure this indictment. This is the next step in bringing justice to Parker League and his family.”
Court documents reveal that an unknown sharp object was used to stab League in the back numerous times, and then an unknown sharp weapon was used to dismember and decapitate him. League’s head and hands were removed and positioned near his legs, according to court documents.
A 'malicious' death
League, who flew to Mesa on June 9, was reportedly in Arizona to visit a friend. The victim’s family reported him missing to Mesa police on June 12, when he was expected to leave Arizona to return to Nebraska, court documents state.
Surveillance video showed League was dropped off at a Phoenix nightclub during the early morning hours of June 11 shortly before Ruinard and an unknown woman entered the same club, according to court documents. However, all three were seen exiting the nightclub together roughly an hour later, court documents reveal.
Video footage from a Chandler gas station that same day showed the last time League would be seen alive, according to the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office. In the video, League was leaving the store with Ruinard in the suspect’s black 2019 Dodge Challenger, court documents show.
According to charging documents, a blood spot the size of a basketball was discovered in the Challenger's trunk, and blood was also found on the car's rear bumper.
Court documents show that Ruinard told investigators he met League at a Circle K and bought bank cards from the victim. The County Attorney’s Office wrote that Ruinard allegedly attempted to use League’s credit cards after he died. Detectives discovered video footage from numerous places where League’s bank cards were used after he was found dead, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
Charging documents also reveal that Ruinard, who was found to be in possession of cocaine worth roughly $27,000, said that he used marijuana and cocaine before meeting up with League, which "may have blurred his memory.”
Ruinard’s trial for the two charges has been set for July 17, court records show.
Ruinard has also been indicted for six other charges, for which a trial has been set for May 8, according to court records:
- Two counts of narcotic drug possession for sale
- One count of narcotic drug manufacture
- Two counts of misconduct involving weapons
- One count of credit card theft or fraudulently obtaining a credit card
Madeline Nguyen is a breaking news reporter for The Republic. Reach her at Madeline.Nguyen@gannett.com or 480-619-0285. Follow her on X @madelineynguyen.