KSP: Sparkman was not found hanging, other reports 'pure speculation'
Carradine?
By Joseph Dill
Managing Editor
Even while giving out a preliminary cause of death and saying much that has been reported about the death of William Sparkman is false, Kentucky State Police officials are saying little else about the investigation — even refusing to say specifically which information was incorrect.
The body of Sparkman, a substitute teacher for the Laurel County school district who was also doing work in Clay County for the U.S. Census Bureau, was found Sept. 12 in a cemetery in a remote patch of the Daniel Boone National Forest. Co-workers at Johnson Elementary School said they last saw him Wednesday, Sept. 9, and became suspicious when he didn’t show up for an after-school program the next day.
In a press release issued late Thursday, KSP said the cause of death was asphyxiation — with the word “preliminary” in all capital letters and bold type and with two asterisks before and after it. It went on to say that the only thing ruled out involving the death is that it was not from natural causes.
“We have ruled out natural causes, but none of the three unnatural causes — accidental, homicide or suicide,” KSP Trooper First Class Don Trosper said Friday.
When asked about information released from an unnamed source by The Associated Press Wednesday, Trosper said there had been much false information published and broadcast. The only example he would give was that Sparkman was not found hanging in the cemetery.
“We’re not going into specifics, but some of the initial AP report was flawed,” Trosper said. “We did release that he had a rope around his neck and he was tied to the tree. But he was in contact with the ground.”
KSP Post 11 Commander Capt. Lisa Rudzinski was also quoted by AP as refuting reports that a computer, which contained Sprakman’s census information, was found in his truck.
“We found his truck, but there was no computer in it,” Rudzinski said.
She also said investigators have not determined that Sparkman’s death was a hate crime or that it was related to his work as a federal employee. She refused Friday to discuss any other specifics about the case.
“The position of the state police is that we continue to actively investigate the matter,” Rudzinski said. “We have not been able to rule out accidental, suicide or homicide and our investigators are working diligently to come to a conclusion.”
Rudzinski did comment on some of the reports circulating about the death.
“Misinformation is one thing, but pure speculation is another,” She said. “What we’re seeing the bulk of is speculation by people who don’t have direct access to the investigation.”
Neither Trosper nor Rudzinski would specifically address the claim that Sparkman had “Fed” written or carved into his chest. They also wouldn’t discuss what he was — or wasn’t — wearing when he was found. That information surfaced Wednesday in the AP story that quoted a law enforcement official who was not authorized to discuss the case and requested anonymity.
“We have no idea who released the initial information,” Trosper said. “AP listed it as an unidentified source. No one from KSP Post 11 released that information, and I don’t have any specific knowledge about where it came from.”
Trosper said it is official KSP policy “not to discuss ongoing investigations, especially specific evidentiary information. We will not talk about an investigation just to give information out there that could jeopardize the investigation. Our primary function is to investigate cases and bring positive results. A secondary function is things such as media contacts.”
Trosper said he could not estimate how long the investigation would take, other than to say that “the investigation is ongoing and our officers are investigating it daily.”
He said leaks, especially the dissemination of incorrect information, can be damaging to any investigation.
“Misinformation is much more damaging to our investigation than the correct or no information,” he said.
Anyone with information about Sparkman’s death can contact Detective Donald Wilson or the Kentucky State Police at 878-6622 or at 1-800-222-5555.
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