Bill Sparkman's death; a thread for skeptics.

[Barack_America]

It seems to me that we're having a bit of a communication problem in other threads between those who are inclined to believe and those who are inclined to disbelieve.

Without making any judgments on which style of thinking is better or worse, would you permit me to begin this thread for people of the more skeptical nature? A thread where we can really dissect the information to satisfy our skeptical minds about what is "known" and what cannot be trusted?

Hopefully this can help cut down on some of the flame wars that keep popping up in other threads.


So, if I may begin, I found this little blurb in the local paper to be quite interesting:

Census Worker Death Investigation Update

Kentucky State Police are working alongside the FBI to determine what happened to a census worker found dead in Clay County. Police are now saying that some media reports about what happened to Bill Sparkman are riddled with inaccuracies.

The body of 51-year-old Sparkman was found near a cemetery deep inside the Daniel Boone National Forest on September 12th.

Citing an unidentified law enforcement official, the Associated Press, and other news outlets are reporting Sparkman was found hanged with the word ‘FED’ scrawled across his chest. Sparkman was going door to door collecting information for the US Census Bureau.

Today, State Police would not confirm they had any indications Sparkman was targeted because of his government job. Officer Don Trosper says the FBI was initially contacted just as a courtesy to let them know the death of a federal worker is being investigated.

Sparkman also volunteered and worked at a substitute teacher in the Laurel County School District.

http://www.wtvq.com/news/290-census-worker-death-investigation-update.html

This suggests to me that there is considerable friction between the investigating agencies about what happened here. Are the locals trying to cover something up? Is the FBI trying to make something out of nothing? I don't know, but it's what really led me to want to start this thread. Of what has been reported, how much can we believe?

I know what I *think* happened, what my gut is telling me. But, if possible, could we keep speculation to a minimum in this thread?

Thank you for your consideration.

[ScreamingMeemie]

1. Local police + FBI=never a good thing and stories usually widely

vary. I know what I think too, but the media often gets things wrong so I'm waiting and hoping that I am not right.

[Barack_America]

3. Both FBI and local police now say his feet were touching the ground...

...in contrast to the AP article that had him "hanging from a tree".

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/09/fbi_sparkman_was_found_touching_ground_not_hanging.php

[csziggy]

23. OK, try this - let a friend tie you to a tree by your neck

Then try to stand there for hours. Eventually you will tire and sag against the rope, strangling yourself. Is it homicide? Your friend did not technically kill you. Is your body "hanging from the tree"? After all, your feet are still touching the ground.

I don't know if those were the circumstances, but the change in description is a little nit picky and does not really alter what was released before.

We don't know the facts and probably will not until there is a trial. Hopefully there will be someone caught and tried for this case sooner than later. Whatever happened, the information released about Mr. Sparkman makes him sound like a really nice guy who did not deserve to die so soon.

[Barack_America]

26. David Carradine.

Crazier things have happened. Do you remember the media furor and cries of "murder" that initially accompanied his death?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Carradine

[csziggy]

24. Dupe

[daleo]

32. He could have gotten tired of standing on his tip toes

The description "feet touching the ground" could mean a lot of things.

[Barack_America]

2. Okay. He was found on Sept. 12. That seems to be certain.

Again, assuming you are inclined to believe the local law enforcement, I guess.

When did he die?

Unknown.

But he failed to show up for work on Thursday, Sept. 10. He was not known to miss work.

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/09/dead_census_worker_was_warned_to_be_careful_in_rur.php

[Barack_America]

4. Both FBI and state police spokesmen are citing, "asphyxiation" as cause of death.

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/09/fbi_sparkman_was_found_touching_ground_not_hanging.php

Skeptical note, it seems odd to me how quickly the FBI seems to be affirming the state police's reports.

Not sure what to make of this, it just seems odd to me. Who was the initial AP tip? The state police's defensiveness today suggested a federal source, but I'm not sure. But in any case, where did that source get his/her information?

[JuniperLea]

31. Asphyxiation signs don't require an autopsy, per se...

There will be hemorrhaging in the eyes... and if it were asphyxiation by strangulation, there will be bruising on the throat.

snip...

If the deceased is found at a crime scene - or what might potentially be a crime scene - with no physical signs of how they died it is normal for the forensic scientist or Scene of Crime Officer (SOCO) to look for signs of Asphyxiation.

These - if the eyes are open upon discovery - are bloodshot eyes, as well as ligature marks around the neck and/or wrists, which signify the tying up of the victim.


http://www.exploreforensics.co.uk/asphyxiation.html

[FarCenter]

5. Who rounded up the 40 drug dealers a month ago?

Was it the FBI? The DEA? The State Troopers? The local LEOs?

Might be a clue to who the "fed"s are.

Might also be a clue as to the relationship between the locals and the out-of-town law enforcement agencies.

[Barack_America]

8. Not sure, but it sounds like a joint venture...

http://www.wkyt.com/wymtnews/headlines/61219467.html

The region is part of the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) initiative, which involves both local and federal forces (second story down)

http://claycotalk.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=local&action=display&thread=266

[Barack_America]

6. AP backs away from "hanging", includes "feet in contact with the ground"....

...sticks with "Fed" being written on the victim.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jbzG_BlkG2Hfc818EPRRn1bBlP6gD9ATUCR81

State police earlier decline to comment on this.

http://theplumline.whorunsgov.com/


Considering the state police spokesman was trying to tamp down speculation, yet declined to comment on the "fed", makes me more inclined to believe it. If he had any reason to doubt that, I think he would've put it out there.

[RamboLiberal]

7. Police: census worker died of asphyxiation

MANCHESTER, Ky. -- Kentucky State Police say a census worker found dead near an eastern Kentucky cemetery died of asphyxiation.

The body of 51-year-old William E. Sparkman was found in rural Clay County on Sept. 12. State police said in a statement Thursday that Sparkman was found with a rope around his neck that was tied to a tree, but his body was in contact with the ground.

Capt. Lisa Rudzinski, commander of the Kentucky State Police post in London, says law enforcement "has not been able to rule out accidental death, suicide or homicide."

http://www.kentucky.com/471/story/949786.html

<snippets>

But police aren't sure whether Sparkman was doing census work in Clay County at the time he died, Capt. Lisa Rudzinski, commander of the state police post handling the investigation, said Thursday.

In fact, one early media report — that a computer Sparkman used for census work was found in his truck near the cemetery — wasn't true, Rudzinski said.

Police found Sparkman's red pickup truck, but the computer wasn't in it, she said.

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.

The Census Bureau has yet to begin door-to-door canvassing for the 2010 head count, but thousands of field workers are doing smaller surveys on various demographic topics on behalf of federal agencies. Next year, the Census Bureau will dispatch up to 1.2 million temporary employees to locate hard-to-find residents.

http://www.kentucky.com/181/story/949349.html?storylink=omni_popular

MANCHESTER, Ky. (AP) -- Police say the area of Kentucky where a Census Bureau worker was found hanged this month has a history of drug trouble, including methamphetamine trafficking and marijuana growing.

And a man who knows the area says government generally isn't seen as the enemy -- except by people who "might fear getting caught for what they're doing."

Dee Davis, who heads the Center for Rural Strategies in southeastern Kentucky, also says it's a dangerous time of year for someone to go knocking on doors -- because marijuana producers are typically harvesting their crop. He says, "Things can go bad really quickly."

As Davis puts it, "There are places that you would not send a Census worker this time of year."

http://www.kgan.com/template/inews_wire/wires.national/34c1d4bc-www.kgan.com.shtml

[ShortnFiery]

9. WTF!

Capt. Lisa Rudzinski, commander of the Kentucky State Police post in London, says law enforcement "has not been able to rule out accidental death, suicide or homicide."

[Cali_Democrat]

14. So did he write "Fed" on his own chest before or after suffocating himself?

[Barack_America]

17. Authorities are not verifying the "Fed".

That being said, they're not denying it either.

[Cali_Democrat]

21. That's the main thing that got this story going

I would hope they would verify it either way.

[Barack_America]

25. Well, the state police spokesman who was happy to give details...

...about the manner of death (feet touching ground, asphyxiation, etc.) switched over to "no comment" when asked about the "fed". Evidence that makes this seem like less of a big deal? Sure. The most concerning rumor? No comment.

Hmm.

That doesn't prove anything, but it makes me lean towards thinking the "fed" is true.

[old mark]

43. Maybe he committed suicide and the "fed" is to tell us

he had lunch.....

mark

[ShortnFiery]

22. Makes about as much sense as "suicide by two shots to the head." eom

[Barack_America]

11. The FBI is agreeing with this.

As noted above.

So now is autoerotic self asphyxiation a possibility? I guess that's the "accidental death" angle they're going with.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

12. Has Uma Thurman been interviewed by police?

First she killed David Carradine, now she's gone and killed Bill.

[nc4bo]

29. Something's very strange about this entire incident. Will we ever know the truth? nt

[Barack_America]

33. Good question.

I have no idea.

Hopefully as we learn more things will make more sense.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

10. I don't see any sign of friction between local and fed authorities.

AP reports based on one unnamed source from the FBI. Locals neither confirm nor deny. That's not friction.

People watch too many movies.

[Barack_America]

13. That was my read.

That state police were displeased with the leak to the AP and disputed the "facts".

But that was just my read, not fact, of course.

[ddeclue]

15. He was murdered. Stop trying to obfuscate the obvious.

:argh:

[RamboLiberal]

18. And you know this how?

Seems to me a lot of people are jumping to conclusions and not just on DU. I want to see the investigation and the facts play out.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

19. He seems to know an awful lot about the case. Even more than the authorities.

Sounds like a person of interest to me.

[Barack_America]

20. Perhaps he saw it happen.

I don't believe this of course, but it seems personal involvement is the only way one could "know" his cause of death.

[Stephanie]

34. You are correct

I really don't like seeing this kind of behavior at DU.

[ddeclue]

16. He was murdered. Stop trying to obfuscate the obvious.

:argh:

[Stephanie]

35. He may have been murdered, but we don't know by whom. n/t

[berni_mccoy]

36. Police confirmed it was murder

[Barack_America]

37. Can you provide a link to that?

Thanks.

That is an update from tonight? Because police this afternoon said they were ruling nothing out.

[Barack_America]

27. State police: no computer in Sparkman's truck.

Not certain he was performing census duties at time of death.

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/251/story/75986.html

This one is really strange. That seems like an oddly specific detail to be wrong about. I'm curious about verifying this information that his recent Census work had been conducted in Clay County.

[Retired AF Dem]

28. DU folks are famous for jumping to conclusions

before the facts are in. I will wait till all the evidence is weighed before I come to a conclusion.

[emilyg]

41. +10

[JuniperLea]

30. How can there be anything else left but speculation...

If we don't have all of the facts?

:shrug:

We can only speculate... we can only guess... your gut is speculating if it's coming up with anything more than we've read, right?

[Barack_America]

38. Another KY media outlet reports Sparkman's "hands and feet [were] bound".

From yet another unnamed law enforcement source.

http://www.sentinel-echo.com/local/local_story_267133715.html

We'll see if anyone will confirm this on the record.

[anigbrowl]

39. Good job on keeping this both updated and properly linked

appreciated.

[Barack_America]

40. County coroner confirms "FED" was written across Sparkman's chest...

Apparently in felt-tip marker.

From the LA Times:

Reporting from Atlanta - The body of the asphyxiated man was discovered in the backwoods of Clay County, Ky., near an old family cemetery. A rope around his neck was tied to a tree.

He was a 51-year-old part-time teacher and a former Boy Scout employee -- a gentle man who, one relative said, never caused any trouble.

That would be mystery enough. But the dead man, William E. "Bill" Sparkman, was also a part-time employee of the U.S. Census Bureau. He was found with the word "FED" written across his chest in what appeared to be a felt-tip marker, according to Jim Trosper, the county coroner...

More:
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-kentucky-killing25-2009sep25,0,4710651.story

[Barack_America]

42. New AP article has some interesting comments on the crime scene investigation...

...or lack thereof.

Notes that no evidence of an investigation, save a pair of gloves, can be found. And a local resident noted no police traffic in the area.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jbzG_BlkG2Hfc818EPRRn1bBlP6gD9AUC4UO0

[ShortnFiery]

44. I hope KO reports this. Would anyone first write "FED" with a felt tip on their chest then ...

commit suicide? :wtf:

It was MURDER that killed this man ... MURDER though asphyxiation.