Census worker's death was suicide, police say - Bound body found with 'Fed' on chest Scene staged to look like homicide

Richard Fausset
November 25, 2009

ATLANTA — A Census Bureau worker found dead in rural Kentucky — a death that sparked fear of anti-government violence in some quarters — committed suicide, authorities said Tuesday.

The death scene was "staged to appear as a homicide," according to a statement released Tuesday by the Kentucky State Police.

The body of William "Bill" Sparkman Jr., 51, was found in the backwoods of Clay County on Sept. 12, with his hands, feet and mouth bound with duct tape, rope around his neck and the word "FED" written on his chest. A rope around his neck was tied to a tree, though police said his body was not hanging, but on the ground.

State police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation began looking into the possibility that he was targeted because of his job collecting information for the federal Census Bureau.

Officials said Tuesday that Sparkman had acted alone. Witnesses told them that Sparkman had discussed suicide, as well as "perceived negative attitudes toward federal entities by some residents of Clay County."

Also discovered, the statement said, were two life-insurance policies Sparkman had recently purchased that did not pay benefits in case of suicide.

Evidence at the scene and DNA testing concluded that Sparkman acted alone, the release said. The cause of death was "asphyxiation/strangulation" where his body was discovered.

The death came at a time of growing and impassioned concern among some conservatives about what they perceive as an expansion of government power under President Obama.

In June, U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., gained national attention when she said she and her family would not fully fill out their 2010 census forms, in part because the questions had become "very intricate, very personal."

After the discovery of Sparkman's body, Village Voice Media's True Crime Report blog cited the recent "rage against Washington ... especially in the rural South." The blog said Sparkman's death had "all the makings of some anti-government goober taking his half-wit beliefs way too far."

In September, the Census Bureau suspended door-to-door interviews in Clay County pending completion of the investigation. Census spokesman Stephen Buckner said in a statement Tuesday "normal" operations would resume next month.

Sparkman's death, Buckner said, "was a tragedy and remains a loss for the Census Bureau family. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends."

Caption: Brian Bohannon / The Associated Press : Kentucky State Police Capt. Lisa Rudzinski shows how "fed" was written from the bottom up as she answers questions on the death of census worker Bill Sparkman.