LA Times: "Fed" written across Sparkman's chest in felt-tip marker.

[Barack_America]

County coroner confirms.

Government ties explored as motive in death of Kentucky Census worker

The man with a rope tied around his neck and the word 'FED' written on his chest was asphyxiated. Investigators look into the theory, while some liberal bloggers cite anti-government violence.

By Richard Fausset

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.

Now state and federal investigators are exploring whether Sparkman -- one of hundreds of part-time employees working for a Census Bureau that is under increasing fire from conservatives -- was targeted because of his job....

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

I thought this development was significant enough to merit its own thread.

[aquart]

1. What they're asking is are the radical right at war?

Or has only one of them seen too much Glenn Beck?

[Barack_America]

2. I think they're still verifying that he was working that day...

...and waiting for this to be officially ruled a homicide.

That's when the FBI will take over the investigation.

[flyarm]

3. one should read this as well..

http://emptywheel.firedoglake.com/2009/09/24/vote-fraud-in-clay-county-and-the-hanged-census-worker/

[Tangerine LaBamba]

6. Interesing information -

but that's like saying that there were crimes committed in Oklahoma City on the day that McVeigh blew up the Murrah building. They happened, but had nothing to do with what McVeigh did.

It adds nothing to the circumstances of Mr. Sparkman's death. In fact, earlier, on Rachel's show, an investigator stated that it wasn't even known that Sparkman was working that day - his Census job was only a couple of days a month, and I haven't seen that he was one of the door-to-door people.

No one knows what happened, that's all we know......................

[nadinbrzezinski]

8. You remember teh Hatifields and the McCoys?

hatfields are from Clay County... they are real.

The anti guv'ment feeling in Clay County goes back to King George, truly exploded with the Whiskey Rebellion, and on and on... White Lighting was run from the stills forty years ago... today it is drugs.

So this has little to do with Bachman... who is she? But to say that this is not anti guv'ment as some are trying to discount, is hardly making acknowledgment to the history of the area.

Though the date 9\12 raises my eyebrows....

[Barack_America]

12. He was found on 9/12, he failed to show up for work on the 10th.

9/12 is likely insignificant.

[nadinbrzezinski]

37. Not to the police who put the embargo

what happened on 9\12 anyway?

(Yes they did embargo this story)

[Tangerine LaBamba]

4. Interesting detail -

"The body was not hanging from the rope, but on the ground, police said."

So, now he wasn't hanging from a tree, but found on the ground with a rope around his neck.

Sounds more and more like auto-erotic asphyxiation.

The family member quoted last talked to Mr. Sparkman in April. Not a close family, it seems.

But, as the details emerge, it does get more and more compelling......................

[katanalori]

5. Just curious......

Any theory on why a person engaged in auto-erotic asphyxiation would write "Fed" on himself?

[Tangerine LaBamba]

11. I can think of a lot of reasons -

I don't know, and haven't seen it anywhere, if FED was written on his chest or if he was wearing, say, a t-shirt on which it was written. So far, the reports first had him hanging from a tree, and now it's being reported that he was found on the ground with a rope around his neck.

No reports of his wrists being bound, which would be, I should think, a necessary detail to be taken care of if someone was trying to hang someone.

Anything is possible. Writing "FED" on a tshirt might have been Mr. Sparkman's idea of joke, something to wear when he was working for the Census.

When I was a young lawyer, filing FOIA requests with the FBI, I was in their DC office building every day, picking up the files and going to the special room where I was allowed to read them.

I had a Mickey Mouse t-shirt that I wore every day, just to let them know what I thought of them.

So, anything is possible, as I see it................

[Barack_America]

14. The coroner said "FED" was written on his chest.

I imagine if it had been written on his shirt he would have specified that.

And, in fact, there has been a report of his wrists being bound, but I'm not certain I believe it yet.

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

[Tangerine LaBamba]

16. Interesting -

"scrawled or carved into his chest."

Hardly a definitive statement, and if the body was as badly decomposed as was stated, it becomes even more problematic.

I saw nothing about his wrists being bound. You have a link for that? I would expect that to have been loudly trumpeted, given what it would signify. I rather doubt it.

Got a link?

[Barack_America]

19. ""FED" written across his chest in what appeared to be a felt-tip marker"

That is a direct quote from the OP.

If I may ask, did you bother reading it?

[Tangerine LaBamba]

24. Bite me -

of course I read it.

That's why I'm able to take issue with it.

I've also read here on DU that it was "carved" into his chest, as was asserted in that further link. So, now we know that it was written across his chest. Does that mean his clothed or unclothed chest?

Was he dressed when he was found?

Details we don't know.

And your question was funny, suggesting how tenuous your grip is.......

[Barack_America]

30. In these cases, the coroner is the ultimate source...

And the coroner says it was written on his chest in felt-tip pen.

[anigbrowl]

22. It's in the third paragraph of the link above.

[Tangerine LaBamba]

25. Yes, I read that,

and I'm asking - was it written on his naked chest? Or was it written on the shirt he was wearing?

Was he clothed when he was found?

Someone here said they'd read that his wrists were bound, something I've not seen anywhere. I asked for a link, but so far, no luck.

That's a sentence subject to interpretation, "written on his chest."

There's just not a whole lot of specific information yet........................

[anigbrowl]

32. No, I don't think you did read it

Someone here said they'd read that his wrists were bound, something I've not seen anywhere. I asked for a link, but so far, no luck.


Paragraph 3 of the linked story )http://www.sentinel-echo.com/local/local_story_267133715.html, the same link a few posts above):
'On Wednesday, a law enforcement official, who was not authorized to discuss the case and requested anonymity, said Sparkman was found with his hands and feet bound, with the word “fed” scrawled or carved into his chest.'

[Tangerine LaBamba]

35. Yes, I saw that -

an unattributed source.

Oh, and you can bite me, too.

I put about as much credibility in that kind of source as I do in the Easter Bunny.

Until the ME's report, we don't know anything...............

[anigbrowl]

42. Now you're getting silly

You obviously missed it the first time and you're snarking at people for pointing it out to you. Nobody is saying it closes the cases or answers everything, just that it has been reported, and is new today - that report went up about 3-4 hours ago. It my o may not be accurate, like any other news report on a breaking story.

This is not about you, and your 'bite me' remarks are infantile. I and the other poster you said that to have also been advocating a cautious, skeptical approach, but there is nothing wrong with citing a report containing new information.

[Tangerine LaBamba]

55. Well, that's your opinion -

I ignored that "bound" business because it's from an unidentified source, and worth nothing.

You want to believe everything you're told, that's fine with me. There were also reports from unattributed sources saying that he'd had FED carved into his chest, and that he was found hanging from the tree. None of that was true.

I prefer critical thinking. A man is dead. No one knows yet what happened.

That's all......................

[anigbrowl]

66. You specifically said you 'hadn't seen it anywhere'

even after it was pointed out to you which paragraph it was in. Now you're saying you ignored it - whatever. I don't need to take any lessons in critical thinking from you.

[Tangerine LaBamba]

72. My mistake -

I hadn't seen it anywhere in any reputable or reliable form.

An assertion in some hick newspaper, from an unnamed source, is hardly credible and not worth discussing.

You may believe everything you read, but I don't.

So, instead of making me the issue, and trying to deflect, how about showing the proof that Mr. Sparkman was murdered?

That's what you should be doing instead of worrying about what I find worthwhile and what I don't....................

[anigbrowl]

77. TlB, quit bullshitting

Nobody elevated the credibility of that report, it was just observed as a new development. An unnamed law enforcement source is not definitive, nor is it automatically flawed, and more than the original report about the word 'fed' which has now been confirmed by the county coroner.

I have never claimed Sparkman was murdered, instead I have spent a good deal of time over the last 24 hours pointing out to people why it's better to wait for the evidence. Your 'you may believe everything you read' comments are total BS. You are not the only skeptic here, and I don't know why you keep harping on about how much more of a critical thinker you are.

I guess some people don't care to be caught out in a mistake, even a trivial one that's not worth getting worked up over, and feel it necessary to insult people who are trying to inform them. Why you would want to put yourself in that group I don't know, or care.

[Tangerine LaBamba]

82. You're taking this personally -

that's a big waste of time.

Yes, you have been on the side of "wait and see."

So what's your problem with my finding that report less than credible? You have your opinion, I have mine.

That claim about 'bound hands and feet' is not anything verifiable or reliable. Its source is unattributed, and I don't put any credence in that kind of blather.

You want to, be my guest. But don't try to get over on me for what I think and what I don't believe. That's my opinion, and it's perfectly valid, as is yours.....................

[laughingliberal]

84. I never saw any sources saying FED was carved into his chest nt

[Tangerine LaBamba]

85. Neither did I, but it was asserted

by someone here at DU last night.

That's how quickly things get corrupted. I wanted to squelch that one fast, and it seems to have stopped.................

[dflprincess]

47. It says the source "requested anonymity"

so did Deep Throat.

Anonymous sources can be very valuable and the reporter who wrote the article apparently had enough faith in this one to quote him/her. It's not like someone saying, "Well, my sister-in-law's second cousin's father-in-law talked to someone who said his hands were bound." and expecting us to accept that as a source.

[Tangerine LaBamba]

59. Deep Throat?

Now any anonymous source is to be believed because Deep Throat got it right?

Not in my world.

It is exactly like someone saying "Well, my sister-in-law's second cousin's father-in-law talk to someone who said......" There is clearly no triangulation here, and we are, after all dealing with reporters from a tiny little paper in the hinterlands. I'm not accepting it, no.

I can wait for the ME's report................

[dflprincess]

69. I used Deep Throat as an example because you implied that you would never trust any

anonymous source. Just because this is a small town paper doesn't mean the reporter or the source are unreliable. In fact, in "the hinterlands", the reporter is more apt to know the source and just how reliable that source may be and whether or not the source has first hand information.

[Tangerine LaBamba]

73. So, you trust a hick newspaper

without any verification or triangulation?

That assertion certainly hasn't been picked up by the more reliable media, so what do you think of its value?

I prefer to think critically and not believe it just because some anonymous "source" says it.

You trust some small town reporter on the basis of your stereotype of how small towns work. Not for me, thanks.

I'll wait and see what is reported by the authoritative sources who will have names and job titles......................

[nashville_brook]

28. link

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

[Tangerine LaBamba]

31. Thank you -

that's the only place I've seen that - his hands and feet bound. An unattributed source.

And yet they found him on the ground.

So the people who lynched him cut him down?

No one knows, and given that this "bound" factor hasn't been generally reported suggests to me that there's a lot no one knows.

I wonder how long he was hanging there before he was found.................

[Barack_America]

33. FYI, I posted that link for you in post #14.

In response to your claim that no one had reported his hands and feet bound.

[Tangerine LaBamba]

36. That's no kind of authority -

unattributed sources lack credibility. I'll wait for the ME's report.

It's easy to believe everything you're told, if it fits with your mind set.

Critical thinking takes a bit of restraint..................

[Barack_America]

40. It's the same level of authority that said he was 'lying on the ground'....

...and "had "Fed" written or scrawled on his chest".

Yet you seem to be placing significant weight on those reports, more weight than the report of the actual county coroner.

[Tangerine LaBamba]

60. I'm placing no weight on any reports -

I cited them to point out that differing reports are being made.

I already said that I know nothing, and will await the ME's report.

Critical thinking is not always the weapon of choice for everyone...................

[Barack_America]

7. With all due respect, I do not believe that auto-erotic asphyxiation is the most likely scenario.

Particularly given the "Fed" written on his body.

But it is a possibility, of course.

I don't understand the significance of the family member not having spoken with him recently.

[Tangerine LaBamba]

13. In a close family,

we speak more frequently than every five or six months.

I am still pointing out that no one has any kind of personal information about this man - some facts about his life, his accomplishments. No one knew him, what was on his mind, what his habits were, anything about his personal life.

That's the significance...............

[Barack_America]

17. His very close friend noticed he was missing and went to his house twice looking for him...

He's the one who reported him missing.

This same friend, who saw him most every day, had spoken with him specifically about doing Census work in Clay County.

Bill Sparkman was an eagle scout who moved up to Kentucky to be a scout leader. He became a teacher's aide and later got his college degree to pursue a career in teaching. He obtained his degree online and when he was unable to fly to his graduation, he drove 8 days to Colorado to collect it. He had successfully battled cancer, taking only one day off from teaching a week to get his chemotherapy treatments. He has an adult son in his 20's who lives in TN. His son is reportedly very distraught, as is his mother in Florida. He was 51. His community is reportedly in shock.

I learned this today from reading just a few articles about Bill Sparkman. I think it is very unfair to say that "no one has any kind of personal information about this man - some facts about his life, his accomplishments. No one knew him, what was on his mind, what his habits were, anything about his personal life."

[Tangerine LaBamba]

21. I read that same information -

it tells me nothing about the human being, Mr. Sparkman.

What did he love? What did he not love? What happened in his marriage? Did he do drugs? Did he drink? Did he have secrets that he hoped no one would ever find?

If he was divorced, somewhere there's an ex-wife, as the bumper sticker goes, who doesn't think he was such a great guy.

Your posting the paragraph from a publication just underscores my point, thank you. Anyone can publish what is essentially a c.v., but there is no personal information there. Nothing to tell you about the human being behind those accomplishments.

I didn't read anywhere that he'd been reported missing. I just knew that his body had been found by people who were visiting the cemetery.

You maybe think my perspective is unfair, and that's fine, but I'm holding to it. A c.v. is not a human being...................

[Barack_America]

43. Lol. His passion for teaching and his being an eagle scout...

His having a son.

Not personal information.

Right. Okay.

[Tangerine LaBamba]

53. You have personal information on him?

Tell me what his fears were?

Tell me what made him cry?

What was his childhood like?

Tell me about his sex life.

Tell me why his marriage broke up.

Tell me how he behaves when he's stressed.

Obviously, you and I have different definitions of what "personal information" means.

That's all right. Both are legitimate...............

[Barack_America]

57. He credits his toe nails with saving his life.

Personal enough?

http://sentinel-echo.com/local/local_story_094220413.html

This was not a closed off man. He was known and engaged with his community.

[Tangerine LaBamba]

61. Nice article,

and just by virtue of it being a published story, it's not private. Hardly personal. A good human-interest story.

You answer my prior questions about Mr. Sparkman, I'll agree that you know about his personal life..............

[PSzymeczek]

26. If it were AEA,

Why in hades would he have driven out to the middle of freakin' Nowhere? He was single.

[Barack_America]

46. Maybe he likes to jackoff to the sounds of nature?

I guess it's always a possibility, but the likelihood of this being AEA has got to be pretty freaking low.

So for the poster above to say that AEA was "sounding more and more likely" is pretty ridiculous, IMO.

[Tangerine LaBamba]

86. He was an Eagle Scout -

who knows what nature inspires in anyone?

The truth is that no one knows, and any theory is possible, some more realistic than others.

All we know is that a man is dead.

Funny, though, that the sexual thing bothers you.

Oh, well......................

[Junkdrawer]

9. If it were auto-erotic asphyxiation, wouldn't there be other, uh, evidence...

to make it a non-mystery?

Like a certain amount of nudity, semen and perhaps porno?

[Lex]

10. auto-erotic asphyxiation?

he wrote "fed" on himself first?

[Tangerine LaBamba]

15. It hasn't been reported yet

that "FED" was written on his body or if it was written on a shirt he was wearing.

I can very easily imagine a Census worker with a sense of humor wearing a t-shirt that said "FED."

Finding now that his body was on the ground with a rope around his neck, that the cause of death as asphyxiation, without any report that his hands were bound - a fairly basic detail in lynching, an act that's been asserted here at DU - auto-erotic asphyxiation, a la David Carradine, seems very possible to me.

Anything is possible. We just don't have the information.................

[Lex]

18. Writing "Fed" on yourself in that area as a joke?

Not likely.

[Tangerine LaBamba]

27. I don't know -

no one knows.

He was out by a cemetery. Not a heavily populated area, I should think.

And people are strange, that we know........................

[dflprincess]

49. It does sound that that's something a person with a death wish would have done in that area.

My aunt used to do this kind of work for the census in a rural area of Minnesota. She was expected to dress and behave professionally, I doubt if a t-shirt with "Fed" on it would have been acceptable.

[PSzymeczek]

34. "Chest" does not equal "shirt"

I think if it had been on his shirt, the report would have said "shirt". As in, "He was wearing a shirt that had the word 'FED' on it."

[Tangerine LaBamba]

39. You're trusting the media

to get it right?

Really?

I'm not................

[nashville_brook]

44. sounds like a case of takes-one-to-know-one.

[toadzilla]

80. Oh fucking please, I'm a census worker. that would in no way be ok, or funny

we get enough shit as is for doing our jobs.

just stop talking already.

[nashville_brook]

41. because going into the woods to masturbate make total sense.

[Lex]

48. Exactly!

If they rule this auto-erotic asphyxiation I hope a real investigation will then happen.

[Barack_America]

51. Like you don't.

Doesn't everybody drive 30 miles from home to masturbate in the woods? And write "Fed" on their chests just for shits and giggles?

:shrug:

[Tangerine LaBamba]

65. Not to you, obviously,

but people get off on different things.

Or is this shocking news to you?

I'd expect an Eagle Scout to love the outdoors..................

[Cali_Democrat]

54. "Sounds more and more like auto-erotic asphyxiation"

How can you leap to such a conclusion? Because he was on the ground and not hanging from a tree?

[Lex]

56. that particular leap is just bizarre

nt

[Tangerine LaBamba]

63. Not if you're familiar

with the phenomenon, it's not.

Your narrow thinking precludes the impossible (to you), eh?

Well, that's good, if it keeps you comfortable.

Since nothing is known about why this man is dead, I'll just wait for the ME's report. In the meantime, speculation about auto-erotic asphyxiation, deadly anal probes by space aliens, or lynching by Glenn Beck-inspired hillbillies are all theories, just theories.

Some are funnier than others, though.......................

[Lex]

71. Old Lefty Lawyer, why be so weird?

Deadly anal probes?

Yeah, my thinking is way too narrow.

[Tangerine LaBamba]

74. I'm not that old,

and I'm so far left, I'm not even definable, not when I think about my politics. Old Anarchist Lawyer might be closer to the truth.

That said, your sense of humor is wanting, and I still haven't seen one iota of proof - any statement providing anything meaningful - that Mr. Sparkman was murdered, let alone his murderers being people who were moved to kill him because of Beck and Bachmann.

Some of the assertions made on DU have been wildly nuts and off the wall, yet you find my "anal probe" wisecrack to be suspect?

OK, that's a good one...............

[Lex]

78. Find your inner sockpuppet . . .

http://uncyclopedia.wikia.com/wiki/Finding_Your_Inner_Sock_Puppet

[Tangerine LaBamba]

83. I never even knew about sockpuppets

until a DU pal showed me that someone was using one to stalk me. It's kind of funny, going to all that trouble on a message board.

You go on and believe what makes you feel good. I'm all in favor of it. It's also lovely that my simple existence can agitate someone so much. Kind of sad, actually, but at least it's keeping you busy and out of trouble.

I'm still waiting for that proof of Mr. Sparkman's murder.

It's so much easier to go off on a tangent, isn't it, than trying to defend the indefensible?

And now I must run my sockpuppets through their aerobic exercises for tomorrow's inspection and weigh-in............

[BlooInBloo]

76. At least I never, EVER have to wonder if a post is the Stupidest Post Ever On DU.

[ThoughtCriminal]

70. It's simple

Here's what that poster seems to be saying:
When a newspaper reports information provided anonymously from a law enforcement officer, one or both may by lying.
You don't need to ask why the policeman or reporter would lie about this particular case.

However:

The poster also believes that his/her own speculations about auto-erotic strangulation are perfectly credible, even without any supporting evidence.

Oh, and "Let's not jump to conclusions!"

[anigbrowl]

79. You summed it up nicely

I'm beginning to think this person is just here to argue, and when the more excitable posters left the thread, he just carried on with whoever was still around, not really reading very carefully.

:shrug:

[BlooInBloo]

75. "Sounds more and more like auto-erotic asphyxiation." - (facepalm)

That's one for the DU Hall Of Shame.

Wonder if we have one?

[blondeatlast]

81. Ohferchrissteaks.

[uncle ray]

87. sounds more and more like fucking murder.

the "fed" on the chest is a tipoff that the killer(s) have a big issue with the government(duh). they might like to torture their victim. a regular lynching, is quite slow and painful as it is. if you want to drag it out and make it entertaining, "hang" your victim so they can just touch the ground. the first hour may be boring, but with time hilarity will ensue as the victim loses strength and his legs collapse, only to stand up briefly after "resting" his legs by hanging by his neck for a few moments. each time the cycle speeds up. who knows how long the torture can last.

that theory makes a helluva lot more sense than the poor guy writing fed on his chest as a joke before he gratifies himself sexually. furthermore, considering the coverage given to the king fu guy a few months back, no doubt had the guy been found with his pecker in his hand, it would have surfaced in the first accounts.

[CJCRANE]

20. It isn't clear

if he was found lying on the ground and tied to the trunk of the tree or if his feet were touching the ground and he was held up by the rope being attached to a branch?

It seems that nearly two weeks after the discovery they should be clearer about the circumstances.

[Junkdrawer]

23. What is the official reason for keeping an apparent homicide a secret for 10 days?

Has that been released?

[PSzymeczek]

38. Ongoing investigation.

Lots of things are not disclosed until the investigators have more leads.

edited to correct typo.

[Barack_America]

45. It hasn't been ruled a homicide.

So technically they haven't been keeping a homicide a secret for 10 days.

And it wasn't exactly kept a secret. The body was found on the 12th and it was reported that it was Bill Sparkman on the 14th. What seems to have been kept a secret was the detail of "Fed" being written on his body. But how the writing was discovered and by whom is still unknown.

[Junkdrawer]

50. I hadn't heard that the death was announced on the 14th...

Any link to that? I'd be interested in what was said...

[Barack_America]

52. Here's a link from the 15th.

Discussing his death.

http://www.wkyt.com/news/headlines/59386962.html

The article from the 14th appears to have fallen off of google news search. I will continue to look for it, however.

ETA: There is a local news video at that link that discusses his death as well.

[Junkdrawer]

58. I just watched it. Nothing about a rope around his neck either....

Seems to me that *someone* wanted to keep the circumstances of his death as quiet as they could for as long as they could.

[anigbrowl]

62. That's not so uncommon in some investigations

If the police release information about some strange killing, they always get a number of kooks calling in claiming to have theories or even claiming to have done it - some people are serial confessors to any random crime they read about, strangely enough. So details are sometimes held back to filter out the crazies or to avoid tipping their hand to a possible suspect. These are just generalities, i don't know the specifics of this case - just that it's not necessarily suspicious.

[Barack_America]

67. As a matter of fact, a psychic from NC offered his services...

...to the Clay County News today!

http://www.clayconews.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=3861

I was going to repost the message, but the kook included his SSN and I don't feel comfortable posting that.

[anigbrowl]

68. Hey, I'm positive that person posts in one of our 'special' forums

[Barack_America]

64. I don't deny that.

But I wrote an OP earlier today where I looked for similar crimes being committed in KY. I couldn't find any. It's possible that the local authorities didn't know what the fuck they were dealing with. They also got the FBI involved early too, apparently as soon as they found out he was a census worker.

Everyone is still hushed about this. Both the state police and FBI walked this notion of an "anti-govt. murder" back today, all the while knowing about the "FED" written on his chest.

I think they understand what a tinderbox this potentially is.

[Barack_America]

29. He seems to have been there for at least 2 days.

His absence was first noted on the 10th and his body found on the 12th.

Given the lapse of time, I'm not sure it can be presumed that the crime scene did not change, i.e. even if he were found lying on the ground, he could have begun suspended completely.

From the bulk of the reports I've read, however, it seems that his feet were touching the ground while his torso was suspended from a rope around his neck that had been tied to a tree.