Terror in Kentucky: Census Worker's Murder

(CBS/AP)  It was a bizarre and gruesome discovery in a remote section of eastern Kentucky: Bill Sparkman, a 51-year-old teacher and part-time worker for the United States Census, was found two weeks ago hanging from a tree with the word "Fed" scrawled on his chest in felt tip pen.

A man who said he was among those who found the body told tells the Associated Press that Sparkman was naked, bound at the hands and feet with duct tape and gagged - details that have not yet been confirmed by authorities.

Jerry Weaver of Ohio told the Associated Press he was visiting a cemetery in rural Kentucky with family members on Sept. 12 when he, his wife and daughter 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.

"He was murdered," Weaver said. "There's no doubt."

Weaver said the body was about 50 yards from a 2003 Chevrolet S-10 pickup truck.

Friends: Hanging Victim Devoted to Kids

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, but could not read that it said "fed."

(AP Photo/The Times-Tribune)

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.

(Left: A 2008 photo of Bill Sparkman speaking to a 7th grade class.)

A retired state trooper who worked with Sparkman at Johnson Elementary School, some 30 miles from where the body was found, said he warned Sparkman that some people in the rural area are hostile.

"I said, 'Bill you be careful when you go over to eastern Kentucky to do your census work. Some of the people over there may not understand that you're just collecting statistics,'" friend Gilbert Acciardo told CBS News.

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.

According to the sheriff, there's only been one murder in Clay County in three years, reports CBS News correspondent Dave Browde.

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.

After Sparkman's body was found, the Census Bureau suspended door-to-door interviews in Clay County until the investigation is complete.

[drthvader]

So yesterday it seemed that everything was saying "suicide", which to me sounded impossible. There was duct tape over his eyes?

[Urbanwatchdog]

Glen Beck,Rush Limbaugh,and Bill O'Reilly murdered this man and his blood is on their hands. These 3 men have traded in their Klan robes for Brooks Brothers suits. When I see these 3 hate mongers and polarizers I can still see the white pointed hats on their heads.

[wyodutch]

Probably a Mexican drug ring... they're thick in that area.

[gboyd41]

Stuart-don't you think it was an archist who did this?

[hamiltoningrate]

Check out Drudge Report and the brutal killing of a teen by a mob in Chicago. They kicked him and beat him with bats, when he was already nearly dead. This has to be a national story.

[bradkt1]

This outpouring of hostility is not just focused on federal census workers. Just ask anyone who works for the federal government and who has to deal with the public. This is a direct result of all of this amgry anti-government rhetoric coming from some politicioans on the far right, radio and television talk show commentators and talking heads and political operatives with their staged events.

[sunspro]

Federal worker killed. Guess that will bring happiness to Rush Limbaugh and his ilk. They should be arrested for inciting murder. Those rednecks are real quick to adopt any idea that involves "killin".

[NotPartyControlled]

Why save a few billion and combine the Census Department with the US Postal since they pretty much do the same thing of keeping track of who lives where. Cut back on the duplication and spending.

[Raya54]

The Census doesn't keep track of who lives where. They keep track of address where people might live, so they can visit them for surveys or to conduct the full Census every 10 years. It's not unusual to get an assignment and when you arrive at the address, find an empty slab where a trailer used to be or a vacant house.
The Post Office, on the other hand, only visits an address if they have a letter/package for that address.
It might seem the same, but it's only similar. Like a tractor trailer truck and a train. Both are carrying freight, but neither can do the others job and it wouldn't save any money to combine them. You wouldn't tell an engineer, "When you get this train to Dallas, can you run by Wal-Mart and drop off their shipment, then drop by Taco Bell and deliver their burritos?"
And by the way, the ones who claim the problems the US Post Office is having staying profitable is proof the US Government can't run health care, or whatever, are showing just how lost in the past they are.
The Post Office is not profitable because of the Internet. People don't send letters, they e-mail, so the post office doesn't sell stamps and has a reduced work-load for their mail carriers, so they have to cut hours. The US Postal service is probably the most efficient mail service in the history of the world, and it's a shame that talking-heads tear them down to use as an example of government failure.

[erasmus111]

by gunownerdan September 28, 2009 9:46 AM EDT
I wish Bill Sparkman had a gun so he could protect himself.


Why are you so stupid? SERIOUSLY, I want to know.

Do you think that whoever killed this guy said, "Hello guy! Guess what? I'm going to come over there and kill you now. I'm just letting you know that so you can get your gun!". NO! Whoever it was would have surprised him and so therefore it would be unlikely that he would have gotten to his gun!

Potsmokin,guntotin,beerswillin,gunownerdan. Are you sure you aren't pillpoppin too, gunownerdan? : )

[bokoo143]

They wrote "PED" not "FED" on him.