US census worker found hanged in Kentucky with "FED" scrawled on his chest

[Shinola]

Yup, sounds like he did it himself.

[Grimmlok]

If that's suicide, then he must have been a scientologist

[WhoAmI]

I wouldn't consider this area as being in the South, culturally speaking. It's Appalachia all the way. Scots-Irish descent, Hatfield-McCoy, moonshiners, Deliverance, etc.

[Shinola]

It's considered part of the "upland South" rather than the Deep South. The white people where I grew up were also mainly Scots-Irish. Not quite as known for feuding as Appalachian folk, but pretty ornery.

[Fluffy]

Originally Posted by Cali

I'm curious about one thing- if it is proven that he wasn't working on the census at the time of his death, is it still a federal crime? Is he still counted as a federal employee?

Only if he was on the job.

The Rachel Maddow show is supposed to have the friend, who reported him missing and to be cautious when he was working in Clay County, on in a few moments.

[WhoAmI]

Culturally, I think it's more like West Virginia. Appalachia has a pretty wide reach:

[Fluffy]

Originally Posted by Shinola

It's considered part of the "upland South" rather than the Deep South. The white people where I grew up were also mainly Scots-Irish. Not quite as known for feuding as Appalachian folk, but pretty ornery.

I came across this comment on Firedoglake. Thought it might explain a bit about the area.

Gladwell’s ‘Blink’ talks about ‘Cultures of Honor’ such as those found in Appalachia and Southern Ohio - which have their roots in the law-less Clan regions of 17th Century Scotland.

Cromwell couldn’t handle them, so he used them as Politico-Religio Pawns to populate Northern Ireland with Protestants around 1650 - they didn’t fit in there, either.

100 years later, they were still causing all kinds of trouble for the Crown in Ireland. However, rather than expend the effort to civilize them then, the King of England instead shipped thousands and thousands of them out to West Virginia and the Colonial South with the promise of land grants! How about that Kingly problem solving, huh?

In a Culture of Honor, a Jury will sometimes let a Murderer go - if they think the Victim “had it coming to him.”

Writing ‘Fed’ on the guy could be the killer’s way of saying, “Here’s all the evidence you need to know that he had it coming to him!”

Emptywheel » Vote Fraud in Clay County and the Hanged Census Worker

[WhoAmI]

I highly recommend David Fischer's "Albion's Seed" for understanding the major British migrations (Puritans, Cavaliers, Quakers, and the Scots-Irish) to America and the different cultures they spawned. It's a fascinating read.

[Fluffy]

Friend of Sparkman on TRMS tonight:

YouTube Video

[AliceInWonderland]

Originally Posted by WhoAmI

I wouldn't consider this area as being in the South, culturally speaking. It's Appalachia all the way. Scots-Irish descent, Hatfield-McCoy, moonshiners, Deliverance, etc.

these are exactly the people who scare the crap-o-la outta me!

Originally Posted by WhoAmI

I highly recommend David Fischer's "Albion's Seed" for understanding the major British migrations (Puritans, Cavaliers, Quakers, and the Scots-Irish) to America and the different cultures they spawned. It's a fascinating read.

i would love to read that actually! American history, although short, is extremely interesting to me and since my people are fairly new to this country, it also interests me greatly as kind of an outsider looking in and mostly shaking my head, cuz ya know, this country's history is pretty fucked up...not that other country's are such saints themselves

[Fluffy]

Coroner Confirms "Fed" Written On Sparkman's Chest

Zachary Roth | September 25, 2009, 9:28AM

The local coroner has confirmed that the word "Fed" had been written on Bill Sparkman's chest when he was found dead earlier this month.

Jim Trosper, the Clay County coroner, confirmed the information to TPMmuckraker moments ago, adding that the word appeared to have been written in felt tip marker. He declined to give additional details.

An anonymous source had told the AP earlier this week that the word had been written on Sparkman's chest, setting off speculation that the Census worker had been killed in an act of anti-government sentiment. But the FBI and state police had tried to put a damper on that notion yesterday, telling reporters that the AP story contained errors, and that Sparkman was touching the ground, not hanging, when found.

Authorities have said Sparkman died of asphyxiation, but have still not officially ruled his death a homicide.

Coroner Confirms "Fed" Written On Sparkman's Chest | TPMMuckraker

[Mivvi21]

^^I don't know how they can rule this as anything but homicide. After everything this man had been through and recently accomplished I just do not believe he would have gone out there and hanged himself. These cops are full of bs.

[nana55]

They know it was homicide. There are rules and regulations before they can officially call it a homicide. Trust me, they are treating it as a homicide. Have you ever noticed how often a "person of interest" ends up a suspect. Just semantics.

[Fluffy]

Witness: Census worker naked, gagged, bound

Authorities say 51-year-old died from asphyxiation but mum on details

BIG CREEK, Ky. - A part-time census worker found hanging in a rural Kentucky cemetery was naked, gagged and had his hands and feet bound with duct tape, said an Ohio man who discovered the body two weeks ago. Jerry Weaver of Fairfield, Ohio, told The Associated Press on Friday that he was among a group of relatives who discovered the body of 51-year-old Bill Sparkman on Sept. 12.

"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.

"And they even had duct tape around his neck. 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."

Weaver said he couldn't tell if the tag was a Census Bureau I.D. He said he didn't get close enough to read it.

State police Capt. Lisa Rudzinski would not confirm Weaver's description of the crime scene. 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.

Both of the people briefed on the investigation said, for instance, that a Census identification badge, which Census workers are instructed to wear when they go on door-to-door work, was found taped to his head and shoulder area.

'Fed' written on victim's chest

Authorities have released very few details on the death. Coroner Jim Trosper has said the word "fed" was written on Sparkman's chest with what was likely a felt-tip pen. Weaver said he was not close enough to see anything written on the body's chest.

State police had announced the cause of death was asphyxiation, then clarified Friday that was a preliminary determination pending a full medical examination of the body. Rudzinsky said investigators hadn't yet determined whether the death was a homicide, suicide or accidental.

Weaver, who works for a family topsoil business in Fairfield, said he was in town for a family reunion and was visiting family gravesites at the cemetery when he and relatives came across the body.

'He was murdered'

The scene left Weaver without a doubt how Sparkman died.

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

Weaver said the body was about 50 yards from a 2003 Chevrolet S-10 pickup truck. He said Sparkman's clothes were in the bed of the truck.

"His tailgate was down," Weaver said. "I thought he could have been killed somewhere else and brought there and hanged up for display, or they actually could have killed him right there. It was a bad, bad scene.

"It took me three or four good nights to sleep. My 20-year-old daughter ended up sleeping in the floor in our bedroom," he said.

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.

The Census Bureau has suspended door-to-door interviews in the rural county pending the investigation.

Trooper Trosper said it was clear this wasn't a natural death but said all other possibilities were being considered.

"This case has many facets," he said. "To investigate cases, you have to rule out different scenarios. We are not able to rule out many scenarios at this time, and that's what makes this a difficult case."

Witness: Census worker naked, gagged, bound - Crime & courts- msnbc.com

[Brookie]

It was said on Rachel Maddow's show tonight that where he was found (and worked) is totally redneck country - total disdain for the law, meth production, marijuana growing. Such a shame - it seems that he was a really great guy.