upi.com/Top_News/US/2010/01/16/Census-worker-said-he-planned-suicide/UPI-87851263678294/ Census worker said he planned suicidePublished: Jan. 16, 2010
FRANKFORT, Ky., Jan. 16 (UPI) -- A friend of a Census worker believed to have made his suicide appear to be a murder for insurance reasons says he planned to kill himself, Kentucky police say.
William Sparkman, 51, of London, Ky., was found hanging from a tree in a rural part of eastern Kentucky last September, the word "FED" written on his chest. His feet and hands were bound with duct tape, and there was a rag in his mouth with tape over it. Police said while there was a rope tied around his neck, both of his feet were touching the ground
Lowell Adams, a friend of Sparkman's son, told investigators Sparkman had asked him for help in making his suicide look like a homicide, reports released by state police Friday show. Police said they believe he wanted to fake the homicide to help his heirs collect his insurance, The (Louisville) Courier-Journal reported.
"Bill spoke with me several times about killing himself and, on the Saturday before his death, he told me he was going to kill himself on the next Wednesday," Adams told police.
Sparkman, who had been successfully treated for cancer, told Adams the disease had returned, his statement said.
The death attracted national attention because of the possibility Sparkman, who also was a substitute teacher, had been killed by someone with a strong anti-government bias. In November, the state police released a report that said Sparkman committed suicide and that there was no evidence anyone else was involved.
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