KY - Bill Sparkman, census worker, found dead in Clay County cemetery

Does anybody here have an opinion about what LE's silence on the cause of death indicates? It seems that after this long they would be leaning in some sort of direction, would their resistance to talk mean they think foul play, or is this just a characteristic of local law enforcement? I hope this case gets a conclusion, especially for his son, and for the young people that he mentored. Many of the theories suggested seem feasible, but just one will turn out to be true, and I would hate for my family member's death to stay unresolved, especially when the bizarre details set a stage for all kinds of speculation. (Not talking about the kind done here, just in general.) That has got to be even harder for his loved ones.
 
Does anybody here have an opinion about what LE's silence on the cause of death indicates? It seems that after this long they would be leaning in some sort of direction, would their resistance to talk mean they think foul play, or is this just a characteristic of local law enforcement? I hope this case gets a conclusion, especially for his son, and for the young people that he mentored. Many of the theories suggested seem feasible, but just one will turn out to be true, and I would hate for my family member's death to stay unresolved, especially when the bizarre details set a stage for all kinds of speculation. (Not talking about the kind done here, just in general.) That has got to be even harder for his loved ones.

If the FBI is involved, they will usually close down any public release of info unless there is something they want from the public. I don't know if the FBI is involved or not, though I would think they were involved. For some reason I am thinking this is why it is so quiet. He was doing federal work and for that reason I think they would be called in. This death was kept very quiet from the first, and the fact that they have kept so many details quiet makes me think that it is FBI. I mean when they won't even say it was a homicide, suicide or accident that is pretty strict. I feel for the son, it is unfair to him to not let him know.

Local LE will stay quiet under a lot of circumstances. If they have a suspect but aren't ready to arrest yet and don't want to spook him. If they have reason to believe that this might be part of a series of serial killings, or if they believe they don't have a hope of closing the case. If FBI requests it. Another thing that might have caused them to go quiet though is that initally there was a lot of media interest in the case. Sometimes a small town LE doesn't like all the media attention, so they will go very quiet as far as case details go. Kinda like if they don't feed the media, maybe it will go away.
 
Could "Fed" have been "*advertiser censored*"? I don t mean any offense by it (I am a lesbian) but it makes more sense to me to be naked and hanging from a tree with "*advertiser censored*" on the chest than "Fed". His job may have not had anything to do with the murder.

Things I thought of:

1) he came across some sort of crime being comitted
2) same as above and the killers saw/felt/noticed/deduced he was gay (straight people have been killed by people thinking they are gay)
3) he was somehow caught doing something "gay" and killed for it
 
Could "Fed" have been "*advertiser censored*"? I don t mean any offense by it (I am a lesbian) but it makes more sense to me to be naked and hanging from a tree with "*advertiser censored*" on the chest than "Fed". His job may have not had anything to do with the murder.

Things I thought of:

1) he came across some sort of crime being comitted
2) same as above and the killers saw/felt/noticed/deduced he was gay (straight people have been killed by people thinking they are gay)
3) he was somehow caught doing something "gay" and killed for it

Media has been pretty consistant that the word was "fed". Reportedly the witness who found the remains, the LE and when they were talking about the autopsy all talk about the word "fed". I'm pretty comfortable that the word was "fed".
 
I just don't get this case or what happened. Police seem to be investigating as a suicide??? I just don't see this as a suicide, unless the fbi and cops are keeping a lid on something. It seems quite a bizarre route if you want to kill yourself.

http://news.aol.com/article/police-eye-dead-census-workers-insurance/765769

Two law enforcement officials, who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the case, said investigators were trying to determine whether Bill Sparkman committed suicide but altered the scene to make it look like a homicide

There were no defensive wounds on Bill Sparkman's body, and while his hands were bound with duct tape, they still were somewhat mobile, suggesting he could have manipulated the rope, the officials said. He was found hanging from the tree yet was in contact with the ground. Homicide, suicide and an accident were all being considered as a manner of death, authorities said.
 
I just don't get this case or what happened. Police seem to be investigating as a suicide??? I just don't see this as a suicide, unless the fbi and cops are keeping a lid on something. It seems quite a bizarre route if you want to kill yourself.

http://news.aol.com/article/police-eye-dead-census-workers-insurance/765769

Two law enforcement officials, who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the case, said investigators were trying to determine whether Bill Sparkman committed suicide but altered the scene to make it look like a homicide

There were no defensive wounds on Bill Sparkman's body, and while his hands were bound with duct tape, they still were somewhat mobile, suggesting he could have manipulated the rope, the officials said. He was found hanging from the tree yet was in contact with the ground. Homicide, suicide and an accident were all being considered as a manner of death, authorities said.
BBM
How do you accidently duct tape yourself, write "Fed" on your chest with a marker, tie a rope to a tree and put the other end around your neck and hang your self???? "ooops"?..... WTF?
 
statistically, how many people commit suicide wearing nothing but socks - away from their comfort zones (home, office, etc) ????

I don't have the answer to my own question but I'd hazard a guess that statistically it's rare.
 
statistically, how many people commit suicide wearing nothing but socks - away from their comfort zones (home, office, etc) ????

I don't have the answer to my own question but I'd hazard a guess that statistically it's rare.

I guess he was comfortable out there... :waitasec:
 
It doesn't seem a suicide. What type of pen was used to write the word "FED" on his chest? Can they narrow the pen type down to the brand and model of pen used?
They said it was scrawled, i wish we could see a picture of the it exactly to see how it was written.

Where is the Census laptop if it was stolen out the truck? Can it be traced to some location? I would think they could easily do that by IP.

The only thing i can think of is to agree with Winnts that maybe it's LE keeping a lid on the whole investigation..

Who would kill themself in public with only their socks on is right! There is also the risk of being caught in the act nude in public trying to kill oneself.

I think he was murdered by someone who knows the area and would know when to put the body where it was, when there wouldn't be people present.
 
I like this article because it gives a bit of information I haven't seen posted here. I hope this means that they are going to be solving it very soon if they are so confident!

http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20091027/NEWS01/910270355

Police said on Tuesday that they have made considerable progress in the death investigation of part-time Census employee Bill Sparkman and are confident the case will be solved — and probably within weeks, not months.

“There will be a resolution,” said Capt. Lisa M. Rudzinski, commander of the state police post in London, which is leading the investigation. “We’re much closer than we were.”

.............

his father’s truck, which was found at the scene, had been rifled through, with his grandfather’s wedding ring, Bill Sparkman’s credit cards and a cell phone charger all stolen, making it difficult for him to believe his father committed suicide or died in an accident.

His credit cards? I wonder if the cards have been used... Hmm...

Definitely a homicide.
 
It doesn't seem a suicide. What type of pen was used to write the word "FED" on his chest? Can they narrow the pen type down to the brand and model of pen used?
They said it was scrawled, i wish we could see a picture of the it exactly to see how it was written.

Where is the Census laptop if it was stolen out the truck? Can it be traced to some location? I would think they could easily do that by IP.

The only thing i can think of is to agree with Winnts that maybe it's LE keeping a lid on the whole investigation..

Who would kill themself in public with only their socks on is right! There is also the risk of being caught in the act nude in public trying to kill oneself.

I think he was murdered by someone who knows the area and would know when to put the body where it was, when there wouldn't be people present.
The ip address would change it is specific to ones interent provider and not the computer itself so off his network it would be a different ip address.

I too think he was murdered but I wanted to tell ya that alot of people do commit suicide in the nude and from what I can tell no one has been able to figure out why they do. I read something on it once it was interesting to read but ironic as well in the perspective that the psychologist were debating on why people killed themselves in the nude but not why they killed themselves at all KWIM? I get stuck on things sometimes.
 
How far is this from where Haleigh Cummings was abducted?Just thinking about the rat in the mailbox and the message left on his chest.????

so sad
 
Weirder things have happened, though it would be surprising. Being hanged is not a typical way to commit murder if that's the cause of death, maybe LE wants to rule it out. Hearing the evidence Im not sure how they can for 100% certain its one way or the other.
 
This is being investigated as a suicide.....he was able to touch the ground and took out a recent insurance policy. I just heard a blurb on the news.
 
Investigators say Sparkman acted alone in manipulating the scene to conceal the suicide.

The news release says Sparkman had recently taken out two life insurance policies that would not pay out for suicide.

http://www.courier-journal.com/arti...f+Sparkman+death+investigation+to+be+released

Police this afternoon confirmed Sparkman was found with a rope around his neck that was tied to a tree, but said his body was in contact with the ground and not hanging from a tree.

http://www.wtvq.com/news/290-census-worker-death-investigation-update.html
 
All that info definitely does point to suicide to me. I'm surprised.

I guess I have to agree.
When I read chesterp's post my first thought was 'BS!'
But after reading these articles it seems they did a very thorough investigation.
I was all set to blame the insurance company and LE.
My heart goes out to his son for having to go through all this in such a public setting.
 

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