Wow. That's crazy.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090923/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/us_census_worker_hanged
Quote
AP source: Census worker hanged with 'fed' on body
By DEVLIN BARRETT and JEFFREY McMURRAY, Associated Press Writers Devlin Barrett And Jeffrey Mcmurray, Associated Press Writers – 16 mins ago
WASHINGTON – A U.S. Census worker found hanging from a tree near a Kentucky cemetery had the word "fed" scrawled on his chest, a law enforcement official said Wednesday, and the FBI is investigating whether he was a victim of anti-government sentiment.
The law enforcement official, who was not authorized to discuss the case and requested anonymity, did not say what type of instrument was used to write the word on the chest of Bill Sparkman, a 51-year-old part-time Census field worker and teacher. He was found Sept. 12 in a remote patch of the Daniel Boone National Forest in rural southeast Kentucky.
The Census has suspended door-to-door interviews in rural Clay County, where the body was found, pending the outcome of the investigation.
Investigators are still trying to determine whether the death was a slaying or a suicide, and if a slaying, whether the motive was related to his government job or to anti-government sentiment. An autopsy report is pending.
Investigators have said little about the case. FBI spokesman David Beyer said the bureau is assisting state police.
"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.
Census employees were told Sparkman's truck was found nearby, and a computer he was using for work was found inside it, she said. He worked part-time for the Census, usually conducting interviews once or twice a month.
Sparkman has worked for the Census since 2003, spanning five counties in the surrounding area. Much of his recent work had been in Clay County, officials said.
Door-to-door operations have been suspended in Clay County pending a resolution of the investigation, Scurry-Johnson said.
The Census Bureau is overseen by the Commerce Department.
"We are deeply saddened by the loss of our co-worker," Commerce Secretary Gary Locke said in a statement. "Our thoughts and prayers are with William Sparkman's son, other family and friends."
Locke called him "a shining example of the hardworking men and women employed by the Census Bureau."
The most deadly attack on federal workers came in 1995 when the federal building in Oklahoma City was devastated by a truck bomb, killing 168 and injuring more than 680. Tim McVeigh, who was executed for the bombing, carried literature by modern, ultra-right-wing anti-government authors.
A private group called PEER, Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, tracks violence against employees who enforce environmental regulations, but the group's executive director, Jeff Ruch, said it's hard to know about all of the cases because some agencies don't share data on instances of violence against employees.
Ruch said that after the 1995 bombing of the federal building in Oklahoma City, "we kept getting reports from employees that attacks and intimidation against federal employees had not diminished, and that's why we've been tracking them."
"Even as illustrated in town hall meetings today, there is a distinct hostility in a large segment of the population toward people who work for their government," Ruch said.
___
McMurray reported from Lexington, Ky. Associated Press writer Hope Yen in Washington contributed to this report.
QuoteDaniel Boone National Forest in rural southeast Kentucky.
Revenuers ain't welcome there.
Quote
"Our job is to determine if there was foul play involved
Well, good luck with that...
That's monsterous - the man was serving his country.
Reminds me of one of the cases I read when I worked during the last census. The census worker went to a remote house in the Adirondacks and it had several aggressive rottweilers chained up with a skull & crossbones sign on the house that read "the dogs are in case I miss you with my gun". :ph34r:
Years later I wondered if that might have been MB's vacation home.
Obama has already begun to result in people's deaths :(
Quote from: Tyr on September 23, 2009, 06:37:21 PM
Obama has already begun to result in people's deaths :(
The census is required by the constitution, blame Madison. :contract:
So has the census begun already? It's supposed to be next year.
Quote from: MadImmortalMan on September 23, 2009, 07:00:52 PM
So has the census begun already? It's supposed to be next year.
In HK at least, the census department does all sorts of surveys every year. The 10 year ones are just much larger in scale.
Otherwise, how can they justify their existance and budget ;)
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.
By the way, FUCK YOU, goptards. You whine and whine about left-wing radicals, but at least left-wingers don't fucking lynch people or shoot up holocaust museums.
Quote from: Fireblade on September 23, 2009, 07:36:15 PM
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.
Baloney. All the venom spewed on Bush, the extreme nasty crap, hate and vitriol. And should we have blamed the various left wing pundits and news for it? Go find better talking points. Sheesh...
QuoteWASHINGTON – A U.S. Census worker found hanging from a tree near a Kentucky cemetery had the word "fed" scrawled on his chest, a law enforcement official said Wednesday, and the FBI is investigating whether he was a victim of anti-government sentiment.
Those Feds are smart. :rolleyes:
Quote from: KRonn on September 23, 2009, 07:54:37 PM
Baloney. All the venom spewed on Bush, the extreme nasty crap, hate and vitriol. And should we have blamed the various left wing pundits and news for it?
And why not? They are why this sort of thing is only going to increase in this country. It seems only logical those people calling for social conflict are blamed when it comes about.
Quote from: Valmy on September 23, 2009, 08:06:17 PM
Quote from: KRonn on September 23, 2009, 07:54:37 PM
Baloney. All the venom spewed on Bush, the extreme nasty crap, hate and vitriol. And should we have blamed the various left wing pundits and news for it?
And why not? They are why this sort of thing is only going to increase in this country. It seems only logical those people calling for social conflict are blamed when it comes about.
Most of them aren't calling for social conflict, but reporting on what they see or giving commentary. The left and right of political punditry and reporting do it.
Quote from: KRonn on September 23, 2009, 08:13:31 PM
Most of them aren't calling for social conflict, but reporting on what they see or giving commentary. The left and right of political punditry and reporting do it.
What they tend to report is the otherside is diabolicly vile. That is calling for social conflict if I ever heard it. It is not like they have to do fill in the blanks.
Quote from: Valmy on September 23, 2009, 08:16:10 PM
Quote from: KRonn on September 23, 2009, 08:13:31 PM
Most of them aren't calling for social conflict, but reporting on what they see or giving commentary. The left and right of political punditry and reporting do it.
What they tend to report is the otherside is diabolicly vile. That is calling for social conflict if I ever heard it. It is not like they have to do fill in the blanks.
Depends who it is reporting, discussing, I'd say. Can't make a blanket statement like that about all, on either side. Lots of dissent but lots going on that divides and concerns or angers people too.
Quote from: KRonn on September 23, 2009, 08:33:55 PM
Depends who it is reporting, discussing, I'd say. Can't make a blanket statement like that about all, on either side. Lots of dissent but lots going on that divides and concerns or angers people too.
Not really. There are alot of pissed off people but they have a hard time pointing out anything concrete, but there are alot of empty slogans. It reminds me alot of the 1850s. Southerners were all furious over States Rights and the press was feeding the rage machine but there was nothing really concrete the Feds were doing to them.
I have yet to hear a commentator or protestor ever rage about something that made any sense what-so-ever. It is just bluster and bullshit. Like Hans 99% of the time.
Quote from: Fireblade on September 23, 2009, 07:38:29 PM
By the way, FUCK YOU, goptards. You whine and whine about left-wing radicals, but at least left-wingers don't fucking lynch people or shoot up holocaust museums.
:lol: You have no idea who killed this guy yet or why.
P.S. I didn't do it. :ph34r:
Quote from: Caliga on September 23, 2009, 08:38:59 PM
:lol: You have no idea who killed this guy yet or why.
FB is just looking for an excuse to consider forming an anti-Republican militia while he is getting high.
Quote from: Josephus on September 23, 2009, 07:59:45 PM
QuoteWASHINGTON – A U.S. Census worker found hanging from a tree near a Kentucky cemetery had the word "fed" scrawled on his chest, a law enforcement official said Wednesday, and the FBI is investigating whether he was a victim of anti-government sentiment.
Those Feds are smart. :rolleyes:
Aren't you a journalist? :huh:
I will say that there are big swaths of that portion of Kentucky that strongly remind one of 'Deliverance'. :menace:
Quote from: Caliga on September 23, 2009, 08:43:45 PM
I will say that there are big swaths of that portion of Kentucky that strongly remind one of 'Deliverance'. :menace:
I wonder if they made the Census guy snort like a pig.
Quote from: Caliga on September 23, 2009, 08:43:45 PM
I will say that there are big swaths of that portion of Kentucky that strongly remind one of 'Deliverance'. :menace:
Cal's estate for one. :P
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...
maybe they thought he was K-Fed?
Quote from: DontSayBanana on September 23, 2009, 08:55:44 PM
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.
Quote from: Peter Wiggin on September 23, 2009, 08:59:05 PM
Quote from: DontSayBanana on September 23, 2009, 08:55:44 PM
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.
They Should be out lynching the lynchers, man! :p
Quote from: Caliga on September 23, 2009, 08:38:59 PM
Quote from: Fireblade on September 23, 2009, 07:38:29 PM
By the way, FUCK YOU, goptards. You whine and whine about left-wing radicals, but at least left-wingers don't fucking lynch people or shoot up holocaust museums.
:lol: You have no idea who killed this guy yet or why.
Damn it, Caliga, if the right can jump to dumbass conclusions (ACORN ACORN ACORN), then I can too. :mad:
United States of fucking Africa?
Quote from: Peter Wiggin on September 23, 2009, 08:59:05 PM
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.
Because of the obvious: somebody driven to suicide either doesn't care or wants it to be a point of public humiliation. There's an incredible number of possibilities, but I think at this point, it's safe to rule out Colonel Mustard in the study with a candlestick. ;)
Quote"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.
Quote from: Peter Wiggin on September 23, 2009, 08:43:19 PM
Quote from: Josephus on September 23, 2009, 07:59:45 PM
QuoteWASHINGTON – A U.S. Census worker found hanging from a tree near a Kentucky cemetery had the word "fed" scrawled on his chest, a law enforcement official said Wednesday, and the FBI is investigating whether he was a victim of anti-government sentiment.
Those Feds are smart. :rolleyes:
Aren't you a journalist? :huh:
Not sure what you're getting at, though. :huh:
Quote from: Josephus on September 23, 2009, 09:53:09 PM
Not sure what you're getting at, though. :huh:
Journalists are widely reputed to be the stupidest of all professions.
Quote from: Neil on September 23, 2009, 10:00:38 PM
Quote from: Josephus on September 23, 2009, 09:53:09 PM
Not sure what you're getting at, though. :huh:
Journalists are widely reputed to be the stupidest of all professions.
Just the ones who write for the National Post. <_<
Quote from: Josephus on September 23, 2009, 09:53:09 PM
Not sure what you're getting at, though. :huh:
That you should know better than to just accept the apparent explanation without checking it out first.
Quote from: Valmy on September 23, 2009, 08:41:46 PM
Quote from: Caliga on September 23, 2009, 08:38:59 PM
:lol: You have no idea who killed this guy yet or why.
FB is just looking for an excuse to consider forming an anti-Republican militia while he is getting high.
When the time comes we won't need Militias. We'll have a Federal Army.
Quote from: MadImmortalMan on September 23, 2009, 06:26:06 PM
Quote
"Our job is to determine if there was foul play involved
Well, good luck with that...
LOL I caught it too. Btw, I'm not familiar with American names enough to determine if the guy's name sounds black. Does it?
Anyway they should check if the guy had his liver intact. And if not, check up on anyone buying chianti recently.
Quote from: Monoriu on September 23, 2009, 07:18:53 PM
In HK at least, the census department does all sorts of surveys every year.
You are thinking of invigilation and wire-tapping.
Quote from: DontSayBanana on September 23, 2009, 08:55:44 PM
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...
Maybe he wanted to thank Kentuckians for their great cuisine before passing away, and indicated that he was well fed during his stay there.
Quote from: Martinus on September 24, 2009, 05:09:55 AM
LOL I caught it too. Btw, I'm not familiar with American names enough to determine if the guy's name sounds black. Does it?
Can't really tell either way from the name, but IIRC I saw a pic last night and he was a white dude.
Quote from: Peter Wiggin on September 23, 2009, 10:05:39 PM
Quote from: Josephus on September 23, 2009, 09:53:09 PM
Not sure what you're getting at, though. :huh:
That you should know better than to just accept the apparent explanation without checking it out first.
Nah. Print first. Correction later.
Quote from: Peter Wiggin on September 23, 2009, 10:05:39 PM
Quote from: Josephus on September 23, 2009, 09:53:09 PM
Not sure what you're getting at, though. :huh:
That you should know better than to just accept the apparent explanation without checking it out first.
well fuck, you never leave home mr. critical thinker.
why are you defending the killers eddie? was the census worker black?
Quote from: saskganesh on September 24, 2009, 07:10:07 AM
well fuck, you never leave home mr. critical thinker.
why are you defending the killers eddie? was the census worker black?
<_<
I'm defending the cops, asshole.
Here's your boy, Marti. Looks pretty white to me.
(https://languish.org/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fa.abcnews.com%2Fimages%2FUS%2Fap_hanged_census_worker_090923_mn.jpg&hash=e77626b8f62d38ab509ec2340b969ab34d2cf7f1)
Quote from: Caliga on September 24, 2009, 08:07:53 AM
Here's your boy, Marti. Looks pretty white to me.
(https://languish.org/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fa.abcnews.com%2Fimages%2FUS%2Fap_hanged_census_worker_090923_mn.jpg&hash=e77626b8f62d38ab509ec2340b969ab34d2cf7f1)
So did Michael Jackson. What's your point? :lmfao:
Well, he wore a knit cap because he was bald from chemo, so I suppose he could have lost his skin pigmentation as well. You're right, he's black.
I guess the issue is whether he was actually murdered by anti-federal rednecks, or murdered by someone who wanted to make people think so.
Or tagged by K Fed. ;)
Quote from: Martinus on September 24, 2009, 05:09:55 AM
LOL I caught it too. Btw, I'm not familiar with American names enough to determine if the guy's name sounds black. Does it?
Bill Sparkman is perhaps THE most common African American name.
Quote from: Josephus on September 23, 2009, 07:59:45 PM
QuoteWASHINGTON – A U.S. Census worker found hanging from a tree near a Kentucky cemetery had the word "fed" scrawled on his chest, a law enforcement official said Wednesday, and the FBI is investigating whether he was a victim of anti-government sentiment.
Those Feds are smart. :rolleyes:
They are jumping to conclusions. All the clue shows is that the killer made sure the victim got a last meal.
:lmfao:
It would have been cooler if they wrote:
COT
FED
KILT
on his chest, though. :)
I was confused by that wrong-doing bit, but apparently he wasn't lynched - as in he wasn't strung up. That's why they're not sure if it was a case of wrong-doing as it could have been suicide.
Quote from: Sheilbh on September 24, 2009, 05:48:04 PM
I was confused by that wrong-doing bit, but apparently he wasn't lynched - as in he wasn't strung up. That's why they're not sure if it was a case of wrong-doing as it could have been suicide.
You mean he hung himself after he killed himself? :huh:
Guys, something that law enforcement (including Crown prosecutors) have had drilled into our heads over the last 10+ years is to not jump to any conclusions and to wait until all the evidence is in. Also not to make public pronouncements until it is clear what has happened.
Remember what happened to poor Richard Jewell as an example of jumping to conclusions too early in an investigation.
The police, if they're smart, are certainly investigating this as a anti-government crime, but are looking at all other possibilities as well.
All evidence. Doing that would mean you would never get an arrest.
Quote from: Barrister on September 24, 2009, 06:40:53 PM
Guys, something that law enforcement (including Crown prosecutors) have had drilled into our heads over the last 10+ years is to not jump to any conclusions and to wait until all the evidence is in. Also not to make public pronouncements until it is clear what has happened.
Remember what happened to poor Richard Jewell as an example of jumping to conclusions too early in an investigation.
The police, if they're smart, are certainly investigating this as a anti-government crime, but are looking at all other possibilities as well.
Because of people jumping to conclusions, Richard Jewell ceased to be poor.
Then he died.
That part of Kentucky is lumped with northeast TN and west virginia as uncivilised dreck. I'm not suprised.
Resent of government is one thing, but murdering its peaceble representatives is another. Detestable.
They interviewed a friend of the victim last night on a show. He was the guy who actually reported him missing. Anyways, long story short, the friend was an ex-state trooper and had warned the victim about the areas that he was going to because they were notoriously anti-government and unlikely to make a fine distinction between a part time census worker and a real fed.
I guess the solution is to use Napalm then.
Quote from: Strix on September 25, 2009, 08:08:27 AM
They interviewed a friend of the victim last night on a show. He was the guy who actually reported him missing. Anyways, long story short, the friend was an ex-state trooper and had warned the victim about the areas that he was going to because they were notoriously anti-government and unlikely to make a fine distinction between a part time census worker and a real fed.
[Hollywood scriptwriter]He's the killer.[/Hollywood scriptwriter]
Quote from: Razgovory on September 25, 2009, 08:10:57 AM
I guess the solution is to use Napalm then.
:nod:
It's what Sherman would do.
*takes notes, never visit KY*
Stop painting the entire state of Kentucky with one brush PLZ
It'd be like if I accused Berkut of behaving like a liberal Manhattanite douchebag. :)
Quote from: Caliga on September 25, 2009, 01:11:34 PM
Stop painting the entire state of Kentucky with one brush PLZ
It'd be like if I accused Berkut of behaving like a liberal Manhattanite douchebag. :)
Indeed, such praise would just go to Berkut's head.
I also agree that it is unfair to stereotype Kentucky as being full of ignorant, violent backwoodsman. It overlooks the growing and influential minority of mammary-fixated gas station gourmands.
Quote from: The Minsky Moment on September 25, 2009, 02:10:52 PM
Indeed, such praise would just go to Berkut's head.
I also agree that it is unfair to stereotype Kentucky as being full of ignorant, violent backwoodsman. It overlooks the growing and influential minority of mammary-fixated gas station gourmands.
Would you believe I had a certain poster in mind when I threw that 'liberal Manhattanite' in there? ;)
I actually don't think you are a douchebag at all, but it's a little strange to disparage someone by calling them a 'liberal Manhattanite' unless said someone happens to be Hansie.
i am in temprorary exile from manhattan in any case.
Quote from: The Minsky Moment on September 25, 2009, 03:03:18 PM
i am in temprorary exile from manhattan in any case.
[Languish]You may live in Jersey (or wherever), but you will never be a true Jerseyite! :mad:[/Languish]
Quote from: The Minsky Moment on September 25, 2009, 03:03:18 PM
i am in temprorary exile from manhattan in any case.
You finally went down for that Ponzi scheme you were running? :(
Quote
BIG CREEK, Ky. — A family's visit to a rural Kentucky cemetery led to the shocking discovery of a census worker's naked body hanging from a tree with the word "fed" scrawled on his chest.
Jerry Weaver of Fairfield, Ohio, told The Associated Press the man had been gagged and his hands and feet were bound with duct tape.
Weaver said Friday he was certain from the gruesome scene that 51-year-old Bill Sparkman was killed deliberately.
"He was murdered," Weaver said. "There's no doubt."
Weaver said he was in rural Clay County, Ky., for a family reunion and was visiting some family graves at the cemetery on Sept. 12 along with his wife and daughter when they saw the body.
"The only thing he had on was a pair of socks," Weaver said. "And they had duct-taped his hands, his wrists. He had duct tape over his eyes, and they gagged him with a red rag or something."
Two people briefed on the investigation said various details of Weaver's account matched the details of the crime scene, though both people said they were not informed who found the body. The two spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the case.
Authorities have said a preliminary cause of death was asphyxiation, pending a full medical examination. According to a Kentucky State Police statement, the body was hanging from a tree with a rope around the neck, yet it was in contact with the ground.
"And they even had duct tape around his neck," Weaver said. "And they had like his identification tag on his neck. They had it duct-taped to the side of his neck, on the right side, almost on his right shoulder."
Both of the people briefed on the investigation confirmed that Sparkman's Census Bureau ID was found taped to his head and shoulder area. Weaver said he couldn't tell if the tag was a Census ID because he didn't get close enough to read it. He could see writing on Sparkman's chest, and could read that it said "fed."
Authorities have said the word was scrawled with a felt-tip pen.
Weaver, who works for a family topsoil business in Fairfield, said the body was about 50 yards from a 2003 Chevrolet S-10 pickup truck. He said Sparkman's clothes were in the bed of the truck.
"His tailgate was down," Weaver said. "I thought he could have been killed somewhere else and brought there and hanged up for display, or they actually could have killed him right there. It was a bad, bad scene.
"It took me three or four good nights to sleep. My 20-year-old daughter ended up sleeping in the floor in our bedroom," he said.
Sparkman, a Boy Scout leader and substitute teacher, was supplementing his income as a part-time census field worker. Authorities have refused to say if Sparkman was at work going to door-to-door for census surveys before he died.
After Sparkman's body was found, the Census Bureau suspended door-to-door interviews in Clay County until the investigation is complete.
Clay County Sheriff Kevin Johnson declined to comment on the investigation because the department is only playing a supporting role but said patrols have increased in the Daniel Boone National Forest since the body was found.
State Trooper Don Trosper said it was clear this wasn't a natural death but said all other possibilities were being considered.
"We are not able to rule out many scenarios at this time, and that's what makes this a difficult case," he said.
Although anti-government sentiment was one possibility in the death, some in law enforcement also cited the prevalence of drug activity in the area — including meth labs and marijuana fields — although they had no reason to believe there was a link to Sparkman's death.
Eh, it's not too off-base to suppose drug growers could mark a vicitim with the "fed" label as well as anti-government types.
And it could be a suicide.
I think it's time for an Arc Light mission.
Quote from: Razgovory on September 26, 2009, 12:24:09 PM
And it could be a suicide.
Or an accident, like David Carradine.
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.
QuoteCensus 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.
Quote from: Peter Wiggin on September 23, 2009, 08:59:05 PM
Quote from: DontSayBanana on September 23, 2009, 08:55:44 PM
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.
:smarty:
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.
Quote from: Fireblade on September 23, 2009, 07:36:15 PM
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.
Bachmann's crazy would be hot in the sack.
Quote from: Ed Anger on November 24, 2009, 04:12:54 PM
Bachmann's crazy would be hot in the sack.
She's rapidly approaching her expiration date though.
Quote from: Faeelin on November 24, 2009, 04:01:29 PM
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.
:unsure:
Quote from: Peter Wiggin on September 23, 2009, 09:33:58 PM
Quote"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.
:blurgh: Raz was more impressive.
Quote from: Peter Wiggin on November 24, 2009, 04:45:00 PM
Quote from: Ed Anger on November 24, 2009, 04:12:54 PM
Bachmann's crazy would be hot in the sack.
She's rapidly approaching her expiration date though.
Put it in the freezer.
Quote from: DGuller on November 24, 2009, 04:54:26 PM
:blurgh: Raz was more impressive.
When they called it an "apparent homicide" that suggests to me at that point they thought it was a homicide. /shrug
So do all y'all bitches think more highly of Kentucky now? Maybe the backwoods troglodytes aren't a bunch of anti-government goons after all! :cool:
Quote from: Caliga on November 24, 2009, 09:10:05 PM
So do all y'all bitches think more highly of Kentucky now? Maybe the backwoods troglodytes aren't a bunch of anti-government goons after all! :cool:
:cool:
Quote from: Caliga on November 24, 2009, 09:10:05 PM
So do all y'all bitches think more highly of Kentucky now? Maybe the backwoods troglodytes aren't a bunch of anti-government goons after all! :cool:
That doesn't mean that. It just means he wasn't successful in using the backwoods anti-government troglodytes as cover. :P
The poor bastard wasn't dying of cancer after all.
Quote
Police: Ky. census worked staged death as homicide
By BRUCE SCHREINER and ROGER ALFORD, Associated Press Writers Bruce Schreiner And Roger Alford, Associated Press Writers – Tue Nov 24, 6:40 pm ET
FRANKFORT, Ky. – On the surface it all seemed like a gruesome hate crime in a rural part of Kentucky with a history of disdain for the government: a census worker found bound with duct tape and hanging from a tree, the word "fed" scrawled across his chest.
But investigators noticed the foot-tall letters scrawled in black felt-tip pen looked like they could have been written by the victim himself, and they soon found out that he believed he had cancer, had two insurance policies worth $600,000, and had an adult son in need of money.
Investigators said Tuesday what they had been hinting at for weeks, that Bill Sparkman's hanging was a ruse to mask his suicide for a big insurance payout.
The key clue was the lack of defense wounds — the only visible marks on his body were a furrow around his neck and insect bites.
"Underneath the tape there was no trauma, and that's what I always want to look for," said Dr. Cristin Rolf, deputy state medical examiner. "If there is ever a homicide, a healthy person would put up a good fight and you would see injury and trauma to the neck and to the arms."
On Sept. 12, the Kentucky resident drove his Chevy pickup — packed with a rope, a roll of duct tape and some red rags — deep into the Kentucky woods, where outsiders are mostly treated with distrust and apprehension. He stripped down to his socks and walked to a nearby cemetery.
He taped his ankles and wrists, but his wrists were bound so loosely that he had considerable mobility, leaving investigators to believe he could have done the taping himself, authorities said. He scrawled the word "fed" upside down on his chest, taped his Census Bureau ID to his head, stuck a red cloth into his mouth and placed another piece of tape over it.
Sparkman then strung a rope from a tree, placed a noose around his neck, and leaned forward, using his own body weight to cut off oxygen to his brain, investigators said.
He likely became lightheaded from lack of oxygen, then lost consciousness. "It would not be an excruciating death," said Mike Wilder, executive director of the state medical examiner's office.
Sparkman was found touching the ground, almost at his knees, and the man who discovered him was convinced Sparkman had been killed.
"To survive, all Mr. Sparkman had to do at any time was stand up," said Kentucky State Police Capt. Lisa Rudzinski.
No drugs or alcohol were found in his system. No one else was involved in Sparkman's suicide, Rudzinski said, ending their investigation.
In addition, Rolf said the autopsy found no signs of a recurrence of Sparkman's cancer, so his cancer fears were unfounded.
Sparkman's mother bristled at the investigators' conclusion, releasing a two-word statement to The Associated Press. Henrie Sparkman of Inverness, Fla., wrote in an e-mail: "I disagree!"
When authorities initially announced the death, the FBI said it was investigating whether Sparkman was a victim of anti-government sentiment.
Appalachia has long had an image of being wary of and sometimes hostile toward strangers. Incidents such as the September 1967 shooting of Canadian filmmaker Hugh O'Connor, who was gunned down by an enraged landowner while making a documentary on poverty in nearby Letcher County, have done nothing to dispel such notions.
In hardscrabble Clay County, tucked into the Appalachian hills, the conclusion that Sparkman was not killed by anti-government zealots was seen as a vindication for the area.
"That's a horrible thing that's happened to that fellow," said community activist Doug Abner. "But like most Clay countians, I feel like we get a bad rap. It's just a stereotypical thing."
About a week before his death, Sparkman talked about his plan to someone who didn't take him seriously, authorities said. They would not identify the person.
Sparkman, a former Boy Scout leader and substitute teacher who lived in the southeastern Kentucky town of Manchester, was supplementing his income as a part-time census field worker.
Sparkman had taken out two accidental life insurance policies since late 2008 totaling $600,000 that would not pay out for suicide, authorities said. Rudzinski said the insurance payout was one motive for suicide, but Sparkman had also told "a credible witness" that he believed his lymphoma, which he had previously been treated for, had recurred.
Sparkman's son, Josh, previously told the AP that his father had named him as his life insurance beneficiary. Josh Sparkman said earlier this month he found paperwork for the private life insurance policy among his father's personal files but wasn't sure of the amount.
Investigators wouldn't say who was listed as the beneficiary in the life insurance policies. Sparkman had made his son Josh the heir to his estate, which included a home worth about $80,000, according to Laurel County property records.
Josh Sparkman is unemployed. He said previously that friends have chipped in to help gather money for him to make one monthly mortgage check, but he said he remains behind on other payments. He did not return telephone messages Tuesday.
The Census Bureau suspended door-to-door interviews in the rural area after Sparkman's body was found, but a spokesman said normal operations would resume in Clay County next month.
"The death of our co-worker, William Sparkman, was a tragedy and remains a loss for the Census Bureau family. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends," census spokesman Stephen Buckner said.
Sparkman's mother has said her son was an Eagle scout who moved to the area to be a local director for the Boy Scouts of America. He later became a substitute teacher.
Friends and co-workers have said that even while undergoing chemotherapy for cancer, Sparkman would show up for work smiling with a toboggan cap to cover his balding head.
___
Associated Press writer Hope Yen in Washington contributed to this report.