Census worker lynched

[Razgovory]

And it could be a suicide.

[Ideologue]

I think it's time for an Arc Light mission.

[dps]

And it could be a suicide.

Or an accident, like David Carradine.

[Galrion]

My father-in-law works part time for the census bureau.  He was told that it was a "local militia" that did it.  I don't see that anywhere in this so I'm not sure if that's his boss jumping at shadows or if there is something they didn't put in print.  He said previously they'd been told to ignore any signs that said no trespassing.  Now they are to stay away from those places.

[alfred russel]

And it could be a suicide.

Or an accident, like David Carradine.

[Caliga]

Census worker hanging a suicide
Police say Kentucky man tried to fake his murder
By BILL ESTEP
McClatchy Newspapers

LEXINGTON, Ky. — A U.S. census worker found dead in a secluded Kentucky cemetery killed himself but tried to make the death look like a homicide, authorities have concluded.

Bill Sparkman, 51, of London, Ky., might have tried to cover the manner of his death to preserve payments under life-insurance policies that he had taken out. The policies wouldn't pay off if Sparkman committed suicide, state police Capt. Lisa Rudzinski said.

"We believe it was an intentional act on his part to take his own life," Rudzinski, who helped lead the investigation, said Tuesday.

Sparkman's nude body was found Sept. 12 by people visiting the cemetery in Clay County, Ky. There was a rope around his neck tied to a tree, and he had what appeared to be the word "fed" written on his chest in black marker.  His census identification card was taped to his head.

The bizarre details of the death caused a firestorm of media coverage and widespread speculation that someone angry at the federal government attacked Sparkman as he went door to door, gathering census information. .
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 said.

Instead, it took considerably more investigation to rule out homicide. Police even analyzed the ink on Sparkman's chest to see how the letters were applied, in order to determine whether it was more likely that someone else wrote on him or he wrote on himself.

Tests indicated 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.
Ultimately, there was no evidence to point to murder, she said.

More keys suggested suicide

Tests results showed that there was no DNA other than Sparkman's on the rag in his mouth or on another rag found near his body. Those results, which police received only recently, were a pivotal development.

Other evidence also pointed to suicide as the manner of Sparkman's death, police said.

For instance, there was no evidence that Sparkman had struggled with anyone. There were no wounds on his body, Rudzinski 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. Also, Sparkman's glasses were taped to his head. The question that raises is why a killer would care whether Sparkman, who had poor vision, could see what was going on.

On the other hand, if Sparkman was writing on his chest or preparing to kill himself, it would matter that he could see.

And although it is true that Sparkman died of asphyxiation from the rope around his neck, he was not dangling from the tree the way people commonly perceive hanging, Rudzinski said.

His legs were bent at the knee and his knees were less than six inches off the ground, Rudzinski said.
Sparkman could have stood up, taken the pressure off his neck and not died.

Sparkman's hands were bound, but loosely, allowing him to move them shoulder-width apart, Rudzinski said.
The significance of that is that Sparkman could have created by himself all the conditions found at the scene, such as tying the rope around his neck and putting a rag in his mouth, Rudzinski said.

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

Authorities don't think there was any single event that pushed Sparkman to take his own life, but rather a combination of issues. He had significant debt and hadn't been able to get a full-time job, Rudzinski said.

[DGuller]

And it could be a suicide.

[Eddie Teach]

I love the way the article mentions the FBI is still looking into whether there was foul play. Yeah, a guy can hang himself, but suicides generally don't scrawl derogatories on their chests...

What if he doesn't want it to look like a suicide? I don't know why you and Josephus are giving them so much grief just for conducting an investigation.

[Faeelin]

DGaul, I expect an apology for assuming a man found hanged from  a tree with a census card on his forehead Fed written on his stomach wasn't a sucide.

[derspiess]

The blame for this rests straight on Glenn Beck and Michelle Bachmann's crazy ass shoulders.

They should both be arrested for 2nd degree murder.

« Last Edit: September 23, 2009, 07:40:31 pm by Fireblade »

You may want to edit this again, FB.

[Ed Anger]

Bachmann's crazy would be hot in the sack.

[Razgovory]

And it could be a suicide.

In the end, Raz is always right.

[Eddie Teach]

Bachmann's crazy would be hot in the sack.

She's rapidly approaching her expiration date though.

[DGuller]

DGaul, I expect an apology for assuming a man found hanged from  a tree with a census card on his forehead Fed written on his stomach wasn't a sucide.

[DGuller]

"Our job is to determine if there was foul play involved — and that's part of the investigation — and if there was foul play involved, whether that is related to his employment as a census worker," said Beyer.

Beyer declined to confirm or discuss any details about the crime scene.

Lucindia Scurry-Johnson, assistant director of the Census Bureau's southern office in Charlotte, N.C., said law enforcement officers have told the agency the matter is "an apparent homicide" but nothing else.

In other words, they'll tell the press what they know when they decide the time is right. They don't actually think it was a suicide, they just haven't stated definitively that it wasn't.

Raz was more impressive.