Officials: Census worker hanged himself

[stevedeshazer]

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/federal-eye/2009/11/census_worker_killing_probe_ne.html

The Census Bureau employee found dead in September killed himself and staged his death to look like a homicide, state and federal law enforcement officials said Tuesday.

William E. Sparkman Jr. died of asphyxiation and was found with hands, feet and mouth bound with duct tape, a rope around his neck and the word "FED" written on his chest, investigators concluded. Passersby spotted his body on Sept. 12 in a remote area of the Daniel Boone National Forest.

Witnesses said Sparkman had discussed ending his own life, recent federal investigations of public officials in Kentucky and negative perceptions of federal agencies expressed by Clay County, Ky. residents, investigators said.

Sparkman also secured two life insurance policies that would not pay out for suicide shortly before his death, investigators said. Authorities decided to share some, but not all of the details of their investigation on Tuesday due to the high level of national interest.

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Hmmm.

[anonymous171]

1. I forgot how easy it is to hang yourself when your hands and feet are duct taped together. nt

[stevedeshazer]

2. Well, yeah, that is difficult.

The Warren Commission may have to reconvene.

[MichaelHarris]

7. The report stated

that the tape was so loose he spread his hands out to shoulder width. I have no theory either way, just pointing out what those who actually observed the scene said they saw. Way too much conspiracy going on.

[Sebastian Doyle]

3. So how exactly did he hang himself with his hands bound up in duct tape?

Or climb a tree with his feet taped up?.

This doesn't sound right.

[jbnow]

10. Other odd part was feet reached the ground, he was not

dangling in air. (So I am not sure how it killed him...) The whole description of how he was found was strange

Wonder if they got some confirmation that he was suicidal from those close to him.

A friend's ex-husband killed himself two years and one day after buying a life insurance policy that did cover suicide after a 2 year period. Their daughter was the beneficiary and he had the policy out and near him.
People who plan to kill themselves often have those they are leaving behind in mind, though money doesn't cover the loss.

As sad as strange suicide would be I hope they are not covering up or giving up

[katanalori]

13. well........

"feet reached the ground" - except when his feet were being held up (by the lynch mob) until neck snapped.

[vadawg]

20. yup and then the lynch mob removed all their DNA from the area

what do you think this is, a TV show called CSImanidiot or something....

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

22. Except his neck didn't snap.

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

21. Pretty simple the rope cut off circulation to his brain that caused him to pass out

At that point he asphyxiated.

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

18. It really helps to read the story before posting.

[barbtries]

4. i don't believe it

this makes me sick.

[Raine]

5. convenient

insurance doesn't have to pay out a dime, law enforcement doesn't have to arrest a local ... hmmmmmmm

[MyPinkPrius]

6. Its possible

Honey when you have been tied up as many times as I have, you have to know, that anything is possible.

[stevedeshazer]

14. Welcome to DU, MyPinkPrius

I know you guys like being tied up. Why don't you just come out?

[bbinacan]

8. I didn't realize we

had so many forensic specialists here on DU.

[tabasco]

11. I didn't realize we

had so many trolls here at DU.

[bbinacan]

16. .

:eyes:

[Warren DeMontague]

9. That's a weird story all the way around.

Very weird.

[northernlights]

12. There was a time when I would have believed the latest news

Now, my only thought is maybe he committed suicicde and maybe it's a coverup. I don't trust the authorities or the media any more.

[backscatter712]

15. I don't buy it. The pigs are more corrupt than ever.

What, the cops? Covering things up? Shocking...

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

17. Don't forget the FEDS!

[vadawg]

19. yup your gonna have to blame the feds as well then, obamas feds

jeez people need to come work in a jail for a while and they will see how inventive people can be when it comes to suicide. the fact his feet could touch the ground mean nothing in preventing his suicide as i had a guy who killed himself with the phone cord in a sitting position. If you dont believe that just ask the autoasphixiation crew how they do it with the doorknob...

[Ishka Kibble]

29. A friend of mine did it that way.

Hard to believe until you've seen it yourself, but, yep, she did it.

Tied one end of a plastic grocery bag around her neck, the other around a doorknob, and died of asphyxiation. When someone wants to die, they'll find a way. That's what I've learned.

(A personal aside - my wife, known as Tangerine LaBamba, told me to tell you to "piss off, you don't know anything," which means she must really like you, so there you have your Official Holiday Greeting from her.)

[defendandprotect]

23. Making the impossible possible . . . oh, yeah !!!

[tuckessee]

24. Seems like a lot people are overlooking the fact that.....

....that selfish a**hole Sparkman could very well caused innocent peoples lives to be ruined if the police had bought into his farcical frame-up and arrested someone for a murder that never occured.

[vadawg]

25. [phone] yup a great point.....

[Bucky]

26. I get a hoot out of all the posters in this thread convinced he was really murdered

and now that the evidence shows he was mentally distraught and killed himself in a horrifying way, are just utterly convinced that federal authorities are, for no particular reason, covering up the sensational murder of a federal employee. Friends, this is exactly why this poor man made his death look like a political act--in order to elicit this sort of unthinking fear and reaction. He must have been in a lot of pain to plan this out. Suicide is such a horribly seductive demon.

We should use this as a teachable moment rather than indulging in kneejerk conspiracy theorizing.

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

27. Easy to overlook the witness he told about his plan when you are blinded by hate.

[Ishka Kibble]

30. Let's not forget David Carradine.

His death was, I think, a big "ooops" in a familiar ritual, but the method of death is exactly the same.

Sparkman's writing "FED" on his chest with a Sharpie was a big giveaway. This one screamed "suicide" right from the beginning.

[HardWorkingDem]

28. The lack of mystery when it comes to mental illness and suicides..

After being involved in the investigation of many suicides, the best lessons I've learned is, first, don't look at the person through your own rational mind. The same way goes with mental illness.

The second is never forget humans are complex beings that often escape descriptions formed in the rational mind.


It is quite strange to read so many replies here at DU regarding this incident from when it broke to the latest findings. Sadly, many of the "conspiracy" theories have grown out of lack of knowledge and experience when it comes to these types of death.


For the record, it is not strange to find suicides without suicide notes; it is not uncommon to find suicide victim's with bound limbs; it is not uncommon to find hanging subjects with their feet touching the ground and bodies in positions where the person seemingly could have simply stood up and it is certainly not uncommon for suicide subjects to mask their suicide to hide it or for family to change things to hide a suicide.

People who want to spread conjecture and conspiracy should first pick up a book on death investigation.