T1B

AP source: Census worker hanged with 'fed' on body
By DEVLIN BARRETT and JEFFREY McMURRAY, Associated Press Writers Devlin Barrett And Jeffrey Mcmurray, Associated Press Writers
8 mins ago

WASHINGTON – A U.S. Census worker found hanging from a tree near a Kentucky cemetery had the word "fed" scrawled on his chest, a law enforcement official said Wednesday, and the FBI is investigating whether he was a victim of anti-government sentiment.

The law enforcement official, who was not authorized to discuss the case and requested anonymity, did not say what type of instrument was used to write the word on the chest of Bill Sparkman, a 51-year-old part-time Census field worker and teacher. He was found Sept. 12 in a remote patch of the Daniel Boone National Forest in rural southeast Kentucky.

The Census has suspended door-to-door interviews in rural Clay County, where the body was found, pending the outcome of the investigation.

Investigators are still trying to determine whether the death was a slaying or a suicide, and if a slaying, whether the motive was related to his government job or to anti-government sentiment. An autopsy report is pending.

Investigators have said little about the case. FBI spokesman David Beyer said the bureau is assisting state police.

"Our job is to determine if there was foul play involved — and that's part of the investigation — and if there was foul play involved, whether that is related to his employment as a census worker," said Beyer.

Beyer declined to confirm or discuss any details about the crime scene.

Lucindia Scurry-Johnson, assistant director of the Census Bureau's southern office in Charlotte, N.C., said law enforcement officers have told the agency the matter is "an apparent homicide" but nothing else.

Census employees were told Sparkman's truck was found nearby, and a computer he was using for work was found inside it, she said. He worked part-time for the Census, usually conducting interviews once or twice a month.

Sparkman has worked for the Census since 2003, spanning five counties in the surrounding area. Much of his recent work had been in Clay County, officials said.

Door-to-door operations have been suspended in Clay County pending a resolution of the investigation, Scurry-Johnson said.

The Census Bureau is overseen by the Commerce Department.

"We are deeply saddened by the loss of our co-worker," Commerce Secretary Gary Locke said in a statement. "Our thoughts and prayers are with William Sparkman's son, other family and friends."

Locke called him "a shining example of the hardworking men and women employed by the Census Bureau."

The most deadly attack on federal workers came in 1995 when the federal building in Oklahoma City was devastated by a truck bomb, killing 168 and injuring more than 680. Tim McVeigh, who was executed for the bombing, carried literature by modern, ultra-right-wing anti-government authors.

A private group called PEER, Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, tracks violence against employees who enforce environmental regulations, but the group's executive director, Jeff Ruch, said it's hard to know about all of the cases because some agencies don't share data on instances of violence against employees.

Ruch said that after the 1995 bombing of the federal building in Oklahoma City, "we kept getting reports from employees that attacks and intimidation against federal employees had not diminished, and that's why we've been tracking them."

"Even as illustrated in town hall meetings today, there is a distinct hostility in a large segment of the population toward people who work for their government," Ruch said.

Trampis wrote:I would assume in this day and age that if you work for the gov., if only part time, your funeral expenses would be covered, as well as your immediate family would have a $50k per year per family member pension of some sort upon your death. Its only right isnt it,

sin, democrats

On a side note I had some guy in his late 50s WITH A BEARD,... and dont all male government workers in there 50s or 60s have beards. Its a sign that you once got high and protested something, anything really and that you feel self importance. Anyways, dude with beard meets me in the road and starts in with who he is looking for( my farms landlord) and then with the questions. Im like " who the hell are you?" He says hes with the USDA statistics bureau and hes doing an audit. I told him I really couldnt help him and that Id been working all morning and was tired and hungry. He wasnt tired or hungry, he was fat from being underworked and he was well rested from being underworked and overpaid. Fuck him and his bean counting.

Cosmo Kramer wrote:

Trampis wrote:I would assume in this day and age that if you work for the gov., if only part time, your funeral expenses would be covered, as well as your immediate family would have a $50k per year per family member pension of some sort upon your death. Its only right isnt it,

sin, democrats

On a side note I had some guy in his late 50s WITH A BEARD,... and dont all male government workers in there 50s or 60s have beards. Its a sign that you once got high and protested something, anything really and that you feel self importance. Anyways, dude with beard meets me in the road and starts in with who he is looking for( my farms landlord) and then with the questions. Im like " who the hell are you?" He says hes with the USDA statistics bureau and hes doing an audit. I told him I really couldnt help him and that Id been working all morning and was tired and hungry. He wasnt tired or hungry, he was fat from being underworked and he was well rested from being underworked and overpaid. Fuck him and his bean counting.

Stick to fucking the sheep on the farm!!! People trying to get data to help other people is a really bad thing.......could you please hang yourself?

Cuda wrote:What a let-down. Turns out he didn't have "fed" scrawled anywhere on him, but he was naked with his hands & feet bound.

88 wrote:I didn't interpret Indy's post as showing disdain for working people. I interpreted it as showing disdain for government intrusion into his private life.

R-Jack wrote:

IndyFrisco wrote:I have no disdain for the Schwan's dude who delivers my onion rings.

By your pic that looks like it happens more than once a decade