A Kentucky census worker found naked, bound with duct tape and hanging from a tree with “fed” scrawled on his chest killed himself but staged his death to make it look like a homicide, authorities said Tuesday.
Bill Sparkman, 51, was found Sept. 12 with a rope around his neck near a cemetery in a heavily wooded area of the Daniel Boone National Forest in southeastern Kentucky. Authorities said his wrists were loosely bound, his glasses were taped to his head and he was gagged.
Kentucky State Police Capt. Lisa Rudzinski said an analysis found that “fed” was written “from the bottom up.” He was touching the ground, and to survive “all Mr. Sparkman had to do at any time was stand up,” she said.
I have to offer a mea culpa here.
When the census worker was found dead in Kentucky with the word "FED" scrawled on his chest I was quite convinced it COULD NOT be a suicide and even suggested that his murder might be the result of the crazy talk from Michelle Bachman and Glenn Beck.
Part of my certainty was due to an interview from a guy who had visited the scene of the crime.
But I was wrong. I jumped to a conclusion based on insufficient evidence, and I was incorrect.
And even though I was joined in my incorrect assumption by the, VERY cautious and careful, Rachel Maddow I still must take responsibility for my mistake.
I am sorry. I will endeavor to always get my facts straight before making an assumption in the future.
(And NO this does NOT relate to my "Splitsville" story or my "babygate" investigation. I am quite confident in those investigations and have first hand and verifiable information to put my mind at ease. Nice try though.)
You are an honourable man, Gryphen.
ReplyDeleteSounds like the insurance companies made the suicide call. Who is/was the reliable source. What was the cause of death? It doesn't make sense that it is a suicide. There are other ways to commit suicide - by car for example.
ReplyDeleteIf he was strangled to death or killed with the rope or hung elsewhere and then made to look like a hanging.
"first hand and verifiable" sounds pretty definite. Under what circumstances do you plan to reveal this, Gryphen?
ReplyDeleteI am still not convinced this was suicide, Gryphen. Seems such an obscure way to "off" oneself. By declaring it is suicide, the insurance company does not have to pay. The conclusion also decreases the odds of more violence in the area (due to anger from both sides).
ReplyDeletewell, I live in eastern Kentucky and I am NOT buying the KSP conclusion. They floated that idea from day one because it was the "easy out".
ReplyDeleteSeen it before, will see it again, with KSP "investigations".
Mr. Sparkman's death was just beyond the pale.
I don't believe it was a suicide. A victim of the Census Protection Society. This is sad.
ReplyDeleteI dunno: Something still stinks. I am not convinced it is a suicide...
ReplyDeleteI need more info than the local police ruling to believe that this gruesome end to a civil servant in anti-census ground zero was a suicide.
ReplyDeleteFED scratched from the bottom up? Sounds like a great way to make it seem like a suicide.
His feet could have touched the ground at any time? Not if they were being held until he choked to death.
Not buying it.
I am not convinced this was a suicide. If someone wants to commit suicide they could do it a lot easier than this. Something still is not right. I don't consider myself a Columbo, but I am not convinced.
ReplyDeleteGrypen....You and your friends please come forth with the information you have abt "babygate". The situation has gotten beyond the critical point. Little Trigs' fragil life is, now, in jeopardy. I do fear that he will come down with a serious illness or be involved in an accident. If you wait...it may be too late. His conditions will NOT get better.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the mea culpa, but I, too, am not totally convinced this wasn't a homicide. Too "convenient", and as someone upthread said, his feet could have been held up until he passed away.
ReplyDeletehere's what i don't get, how to you hang yourself when your hands and feet are bound with duct tape?
ReplyDeleteit seems that the major factor in this ruling was "he staged it as a murder so his son would get the insurance payment."
how old is this son? is he going into the foster system -without the insurance pay-out - now?
this guy seemed like a really devoted dad, who was passionate about teaching (middle school science it seems) and was working to get certified from just being a teachers aid to a substitute and then perhaps full time teacher.
does that sound like a guy who'd think his son would be better off a rich orphan than a kid with a loving living dad?
and the bound hands and feet.......
i'm not into conspiracies, but i'm having a hard time believing it was a real suicide.
Rationalist@4;31
ReplyDeleteDitto.
I don't buy it either. And justafarmer not buying it only increases my doubts.
ReplyDeleteIt very much reminds me of the people who committ suicide by two bullets to the back of the head.
ReplyDeleteI don't buy it.
Having unfortunately experienced a few suicides in my family (3), by hanging, from what I've read and information heard --- I don't buy the suicide conclusion one bit.
ReplyDeleteAnd the DC Madam commited suicide too, also!
ReplyDeleteBullshit!
bull shit
ReplyDeleteSorry, but an investigation by the Kentucky authorities doesn't exactly convince me this was a suicide.
ReplyDeleteNone of the reasons they give convince me since there are alternative explanations.
They've done nothing to prove his state of mind was suicidal.
And if I were a census taker working Kentucky after Bachman's statements I would have taken out a few life insurance policies myself.
The handwriting proves nothing. I think he was strung up after he was killed.
And the Kentucky police have everything to gain by covering up the murder of a Federal census taker.
Nope. It should have been investigated by the Feds, not state. And everything is now tainted so the truth will probably never come out.
Gryphen,
ReplyDeleteI do not believe the suicide story. It just doesn't make any sense.
Why would he have tied himself up? Why, oh why, there are more questions than answers.
KY is a very corrupt state. Especially Eastern KY, it is full of Palin's (type) people.
They'll have to release a whole lot more information to convince me.
And recently, the SPLC had just won a Civil Suit against a very large KKK organization in that very area.
Things have not changed a whole lot in the rural south since the Civil Rights Era. They're just not as blatant about it.
I don't believe that man killed himself. I have experience in that part of the country and can tell you that the rednecks (often mayors and police officers) in those parts have plenty to hide and this story is pure BS. These folks can make the anti-fed and racist yahoos in Alaska look like pussycats. I'm not buying any of it.
ReplyDeleteYep. I call bullshit too. This stinks to high heaven. What first sounded my bs alarm is that we didn't hear about this until about 2 weeks after it happened. Usually news like this is out there within hours.
ReplyDeleteI'm not buying it. Sorry, Gryphen.