Randolph Franklin Dial was born on September 26, 1944 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He died on June 13, 2007 at the maximum-security penitentiary in McAlester, Oklahoma, from complications involving lung cancer.

Dial was convicted in 1986 of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison for the 1981 murder of a Broken Arrow karate instructor. He is currently housed at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary at McAlester, according to the state Department of Corrections Web site.

Dial, a sculptor and painter with a master's degree in art, had obtained trusty status at the Oklahoma State Reformatory, meaning he could stay in minimum security housing outside the prison walls.

Dial ran an inmate pottery program with Bobbi Parker, used a kiln in the Parkers' garage and had full access to their home during the day. The morning of Bobbi Parker's disappearance, her husband saw Dial working in his garage as he left.

Law enforcement officers acting on a tip found Dial in a mobile home near Campti, Texas, in April 2005. Bobbi Parker was found nearby unharmed, working on a chicken farm. Dial fled the state prison with her.