Page 19 - IAV Digital Magazine #621

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Man Allegedly Admitted To Killing Neighbors At Nudist Resort Over A Hotdog
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uF3tYTmRWMU
By Emily Van de Riet
The couple had been reported missing in the desert community of Redlands and were last seen at their home on Aug. 24, 2024. They lived at Olive Dell Ranch, which is described on its website as a resi- dential RV park and nudist resort.
Officials said they found the couple’s remains in bags in a concrete bunker under- neath Sparks’ home.
According to the Press- Enterprise, in a
court hearing Monday, a detec- tive testified that Sparks admitted to another inmate that he killed his neighbors. He allegedly said the final straw was over a hot dog.
Redlands police detective Thomas Williams testified that Sparks told the other inmate that Daniel Menard had given him a hot dog, which he felt was a jab at him.
“He said Mr. Sparks felt that the hot dog was a jab at him, mak- ing him feel like he was worth only a dollar hot dog, and that’s what
set him off that day,” the detective said in court, according to the Press-Enterprise.
Sparks is accused of brutally beating the couple with a rake, a hoe and a hammer. He also reportedly admit- ted to drowning the Menard’s dog, Cuddles, in a sink, Williams tes- tified.
Around the time of the murders, another
neighbor told KABC that Sparks and the Menards had a long history of tension, which started over a trimmed tree.
The neighbor said there was a tree that Sparks wouldn’t trim, so the Menards did. That started a feud that lasted more than a decade.
“I didn’t think he’d ever be able to do something like this,” Tammie Wilkerson told KABC. “I know he didn’t like them, and he didn’t have a problem telling people that, but I never thought he’d do this.”
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