Suspicious Death

Dave_78 · Nov 6, 2009

basso said:

Suicide?

/thread.
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Why would you bring back a nearly 6 week old thread only to post nothing of value in it? I usually ignore your posts because you just seem like someone looking to inflame and derail mature discussion but this one is strange even for you.

You might be a decent person in real life but can you explain to me what motivates you to troll an otherwise civil discussion forum?

vlaurelio · Nov 6, 2009

basso said:

Suicide?

/thread.
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r****d?

/thread

rimrocker · Nov 24, 2009

The Kentucky State Police Post 11 in London, with the assistance of the FBI, the U.S. Forest Service, the State Medical Examiner's Office and the Clay County Coroner's Office, has concluded the investigation into the death of William E. Sparkman, Jr.

The investigation, based upon evidence and witness testimony, has concluded that Mr. Sparkman died during an intentional, self-inflicted act that was staged to appear as a homicide. While all the details of the investigation will not be released at this time, the unusual level of attention and speculation attributed to Mr. Sparkman's death necessitates this release of information.

The investigation indicates that Mr. Sparkman died of asphyxiation/strangulation at the same location where he was discovered in Clay County, Ky.

Despite the fact that Mr. Sparkman was found hands, feet and mouth bound with duct tape, rope around his neck and the word "FED" written on his chest, analysis of the evidence determined Mr. Sparkman's death was self-inflicted. A thorough examination of evidence from the scene, to include DNA testing, as well as examination of his vehicle and his residence resulted in the determination that Mr. Sparkman, alone, handled the key pieces of evidence with no indications of any other persons involved.

Witness statements, which are deemed credible, indicate Mr. Sparkman discussed ending his own life and these discussions matched details discovered during the course of the investigation. It was learned that Mr. Sparkman had discussed recent federal investigations and the perceived negative attitudes toward federal entities by some residents of Clay County. It was also discovered during the investigation that Mr. Sparkman had recently secured two life insurance policies for which payment for suicide was precluded.

All tips and leads, including those from the public, were thoroughly investigated but were found to be inconsistent with any known facts or evidence.

It is the conclusion of the Kentucky State Police, the FBI, the U.S. Forest Service, the State Medical Examiner's Office, and the Clay County Coroner's Office that Mr. Sparkman died in an intentional, self-inflicted act that was staged to appear as a homicide.
http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsme...mitted_suicide_made_it_look_lik.php?ref=fpblg
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I guess that settles that.

FranchiseBlade · Nov 24, 2009

rimrocker said:

I guess that settles that.
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Yep. Case closed.

Dave_78 · Nov 24, 2009

This guy had some serious skills if it took investigators this long to prove he killed himself. Wow.

JuanValdez · Nov 24, 2009

rimrocker said:

I guess that settles that.
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That's the most incredible suicide scenario I've ever heard of. I'm still not sure I buy it. The only reason I might believe it is because it would be so outrageous a lie.

parmesh · Nov 24, 2009

tigermission1 said:

There is a dangerous amount of anti-fed sentiment in some parts of our country, especially in so-called "middle America" where many people are outright distrustful of the federal gov't or anyone who works with it. This is something that must be addressed.
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There are the "anti-feds" who you see on TV and then there are those who genuinely are and have been wary and critical of the consequences of a huge federal government, that have held the same views for a long time through many administrations.

Shovel Face · Nov 24, 2009

The "tolerant" liberals were completely owned in this thread. I wish they could understand that they look this stupid all the time.

vlaurelio · Nov 24, 2009

Shovel Face said:

The "tolerant" liberals were completely owned in this thread
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yup I guess the "bigotted" conservatives like you won

rocketsjudoka · Nov 24, 2009

rimrocker said:

I guess that settles that.
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That still seems pretty weird to me and pardon me if I'm skeptical.

rimrocker · Nov 24, 2009

Shovel Face said:

The "tolerant" liberals were completely owned in this thread. I wish they could understand that they look this stupid all the time.
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Well, if we weren't liberals, we'd pursue the path you cons took... we'd dismiss these findings and agitate for another investigation. If that one didn't give us the answer we wanted, we'd rig some judiciary panel to appoint a new investigator more aligned with our way of thinking in the hopes that he could pin a murder rap on who we greatly wished was involved.

You know, sort of like what happened with Vince Foster.

basso · Nov 25, 2009

rimrocker said:

I guess that settles that.
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i eagerly await your apology.

TIA.

rimrocker · Nov 25, 2009

basso said:

i eagerly await your apology.

TIA.
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My posts in this thread...

rimrocker said:

No real details yet, but it's probably worthwhile to follow the investigation...
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rimrocker said:

Latest version of the story has quotes suggesting it is an "apparent homicide."
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rimrocker said:

Here's a recent addition to the above story...
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rimrocker said:

WaPo today...
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rimrocker said:

Some new info in this AP report...
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In response to you...

rimrocker said:

Please show where I did this. I have been very careful in this thread to not jump to any conclusions and to only post legit news articles.
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rimrocker said:

Hey basso... do you know if "FED" was spelled backwards...

http://bbs.clutchfans.net/showthrea...ght=Ashley+Todd
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rimrocker said:

Some new info...
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In response to B-Bob...

rimrocker said:

Possible I guess... but doing it in some strange place in the middle of the woods doesn't seem like that much of a turn-on.
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In response to FB's discussion of your backwards B thread...

rimrocker said:

On top of that, what he chose to bold in the original post shows exactly what he was thinking.
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rimrocker said:

I guess that settles that.
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In response to Shovel Face...

rimrocker said:

Well, if we weren't liberals, we'd pursue the path you cons took... we'd dismiss these findings and agitate for another investigation. If that one didn't give us the answer we wanted, we'd rig some judiciary panel to appoint a new investigator more aligned with our way of thinking in the hopes that he could pin a murder rap on who we greatly wished was involved.

You know, sort of like what happened with Vince Foster.
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I don't have anything to apologize for... you, on the other hand, have intentionally misrepresented your Backwards B thread and suggested that it is understandable for people to kill employees of the Federal government. Most people would consider that grounds for an apology. However, I do not wait for I know it will never come.

Cannonball · Nov 25, 2009

Shovel Face said:

I wish they could understand that they look this stupid all the time.
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I can only wish the same for you.

Depressio · Nov 25, 2009

basso said:

i eagerly await your apology.

TIA.
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But you don't apologize when you're wrong.

Shovel Face · Nov 25, 2009

TSchmal said:

But you don't apologize when you're wrong.
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Its not about right / wrong, its the vicious attack, pack mentally of the "tolerant" liberals. They are a joke.

FranchiseBlade · Nov 25, 2009

Shovel Face said:

Its not about right / wrong, its the vicious attack, pack mentally of the "tolerant" liberals. They are a joke.
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please show us which liberals in this thread viciously attacked anyone.

TECH · Nov 25, 2009

aghast said:

Where would anyone ever get the idea that the census, necessary for proper representation and for the adequate allocation of government funds, is a bad thing?

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Would this classify as an attack?

rcoleman15 · Nov 25, 2009

Here is a another article on this that is a little more detailed as to what was found throughout the investigation of this mans death:

Source:

Police: Census worker made death look like homicide to get money

By Bill Estep - bestep@herald-leader.com

FRANKFORT — A part-time U.S. Census worker found dead near a secluded Clay County cemetery killed himself but tried to make the death look like a murder, authorities have concluded.

Bill Sparkman, 51, of London, apparently was trying to preserve payments under life insurance policies he had taken out, one as recently as May, which paid benefits if he died as a result of murder or accident, but not suicide or natural causes, police said.

Sparkman had survived a bout with cancer a few years ago, but he told a friend he believed the cancer had returned and that he would die, police said.

However, there was no indication Sparkman's cancer had recurred, said Cristin Rolf, deputy state medical examiner.

In a two-month investigation, police marshaled a number of reasons to conclude Sparkman ended his own life. Among other things, only Sparkman's DNA was found on evidence at the scene, and he had told a friend details of his plan that matched what happened, police said at a news conference Tuesday.

Police interviewed potential homicide suspects but ruled them out and found no evidence pointing to any conclusion except that Sparkman killed himself.

"We do believe that we have everything we need to rule out homicide and accidental" death, said state police Capt. Lisa Rudzinski, who helped direct the investigation.

The benefits under Sparkman's two insurance policies totaled $600,000. Police declined to say who would have gotten the money, though Sparkman's son Josh, 20, has said he was a beneficiary.

Bill Sparkman was last seen on Sept. 9, a Wednesday. The prior Saturday, he had told a friend, whom police did not name, of his plan to hang himself near a cemetery in Clay County.

The friend said he didn't think Sparkman was serious and so didn't tell anyone about the conversation before Sparkman died, said state police Detective Donald Wilson, the lead investigator.

Sparkman's body was found Sept. 12 in a clearing near a family cemetery. People visiting the hillside cemetery saw the body.

Sparkman was wearing only socks, and there was a rope around his neck tied to a tree. The word "fed" was written on his chest with black marker in letters 12 to 14 inches high, and his census identification card was taped to his head.

Sparkman died at that spot as a result of asphyxiation. Police say he staged the details to try to make it appear he was murdered because he was a federal employee.

He succeeded in some quarters.

In addition to causing a firestorm of media coverage, the bizarre details led to widespread speculation on the Internet, including that someone angry at the federal government attacked Sparkman as he gathered census information door to door.

There has been a long-running federal public-corruption investigation in Clay County, and Sparkman mentioned that to his friend, said FBI spokesman David Beyer.

Many people felt the speculation and coverage of the death played on Appalachian stereotypes and gave Clay County an undeserved black eye.

"Everybody was saying, 'It's bad, but why are they saying this without letting the investigation go forward?' " said state Sen. Robert Stivers, a Republican who lives in the county.

Many in the media owe the county an apology, Stivers said.

The census suspended some work in Clay County after Sparkman's death. The agency has been notified of the findings in Sparkman's death and plans to resume normal operations, Beyer said.

If there had been no writing on his chest and his identification hadn't been taped to him, police could have concluded more quickly that Sparkman's death was a suicide, Rudzinski told the Herald-Leader.

Instead, it took considerably more investigation to rule out homicide. Investigators even analyzed the writing on Sparkman's chest to see how the letters were applied and determine whether he wrote on himself or someone else wrote on him.

Forensic tests showed that the letters were applied from the bottom to the top — not the way an assailant facing Sparkman would write them. Police concluded that Sparkman wrote on himself, Rudzinski said.

Authorities cited a number of reasons supporting the conclusion that Sparkman killed himself.

For instance, there was no evidence that Sparkman had struggled with anyone. There were no defensive wounds on his body and no trauma such as a blow to the head, authorities said.

Tests ruled out any theory that he was drugged and unconscious when he was tied to the tree, making the lack of signs of a struggle more significant.

Sparkman's glasses were taped to his head with duct tape. The question that raises is why a killer would care whether Sparkman, who had poor vision, could see what was going on.

Police say Sparkman taped the glasses to his head to make sure he could see as he prepared to kill himself, Rudzinski said.

Also, Sparkman was not dangling from the tree the way people commonly perceive hanging.

His legs were bent at the knees and his knees were less than six inches off the ground, authorities said.

The rope was thrown over a limb and tied off to another tree. Sparkman leaned forward, which would have put the weight of his body on his neck and caused him to lose consciousness, authorities said.

At some point, however, Sparkman could have stood up, taken the pressure off his neck and not died, said Mike Wilder, head of the state medical examiner's office.

Sparkman's hands were bound by duct tape, but loosely, allowing him to move them shoulder-width apart, Rolf said.

The significance of that is that Sparkman, acting alone, could have created all the conditions found at the scene, Rudzinski said.

"We do not believe he was placed in that position" by someone else, Rudzinski said.

The final piece of evidence police wanted in order to reach a conclusion in the case were the results of DNA testing. The results, received last week, showed there was no DNA other than Sparkman's on the rope, the rag in his mouth or a similar rag found near his body.

Authorities say they don't think there was any single event that triggered Sparkman to take his own life, but rather a combination of problems. He had significant debt and didn't have a full-time job, Rudzinski said.

Sparkman, a native of Florida, had moved to Laurel County to work with the Boy Scouts of America. In addition to working part-time for the census, he was a substitute teacher.

He had gotten a degree to teach math but had not been hired full-time.

In addition to the insurance considerations, Sparkman might have been trying to spare his family from thinking he killed himself, Rudzinski said, though he left no note so there is no way to know exactly what he was thinking.

"Every suicide is that person's way of saying good-bye, ending their life," Rudzinski said.

Josh Sparkman, whom Sparkman, a single father, adopted and raised, declined to comment Tuesday. He earlier had said he didn't think his father killed himself.

Bill Sparkman's mother, Henrie Sparkman of Inverness, Fla., told the Associated Press Tuesday that she disagreed with the conclusion of suicide.

Investigators said they were confident in their findings. State police, the FBI, the medical examiner's office and the Clay County coroner agreed with the suicide conclusion.

"We did a thorough and complete investigation of all aspects surrounding Mr. Sparkman's death," Rudzinski said.

Authorities said they sympathized with the Sparkman family.

"Our hearts go out to him," Rudzinski said of Josh Sparkman. "He still lost his father at the end of the day."
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