Man charged with murder in connection with the deaths of a couple at a nudist resort

Nicole Chavez, CNN

(CNN) — A man was charged pinch execution connected suspicion of sidesplitting his neighbors astatine a California nudist resort, San Bernardino County District Attorney Jason Anderson announced Tuesday day successful a news conference.

Michael Royce Sparks, 62, is facing 2 counts of execution successful relationship pinch nan deaths of missing mates Daniel and Stephanie Menard, who are 79 and 73, authorities said.

The mates was past seen connected August 24 astatine their location successful nan Olive Dell Ranch edifice successful San Bernardino County. Human remains were recovered underneath Sparks’ location aft he was arrested past week, pursuing a tense and lengthy standoff.

Police person said they judge nan remains are those of nan Menards, who lived adjacent door.

“We cognize they’re dead, and we cognize there’s 2 victims,” Anderson said astir nan reasoning for nan charges.

Sparks is group to look successful tribunal Wednesday and is ineligible for bail, jailhouse records show. CNN has been incapable to place an lawyer for Sparks aliases find family members.

Redlands Police Chief Rachel Tolber said 1 of Sparks’ relatives led them to him. Hours anterior to his apprehension past week, a family personnel called constabulary saying he was progressive successful nan Menards’ disappearance.

He “had admitted to sidesplitting 2 group and was threatening suicide,” Tolber said astir Sparks.

“I judge that location whitethorn person been different group that were texted, but nan first telephone that started our attraction connected him was from nan family,” Tolber added.

Officials couldn’t talk a imaginable motive for nan killings and Anderson said it did not look to beryllium planned.

A mates vanishes

Police had been looking for nan mates successful nan hills and canyon area astir Olive Dell Ranch. The edifice is betwixt nan confederate California cities of Redlands and Colton, astir 65 miles eastbound of Los Angeles.

The hunt began aft a friend who lives successful nan edifice became worried for nan Menards erstwhile they didn’t be Sunday religion work arsenic usual. Their canine Cuddles, a achromatic shih tzu, remains missing, constabulary said connected Tuesday.

Irene Engkraf, who identified herself arsenic nan personification who contacted constabulary astir nan Menards, told reporters past week that she saw nan their car sitting “abandoned” down nan roadworthy from their home.

When she entered nan couple’s location utilizing a spare key, Engkraf said she saw Stephanie’s purse and some of nan Menards’ phones. Then she called 911 and hospitals successful nan area, searching for news of her friends.

A extremity led to suspect’s arrest

After receiving a extremity from Sparks’ family, constabulary locked down nan edifice because they learned that he could beryllium equipped and barricaded, Tolber said.

Officers had been looking for him for respective hours erstwhile they utilized a battering ram and a drone to hunt Sparks’ home, constabulary said. They located him pinch a camera utilized to measure sewer blockages, Redlands Police Department spokesperson Carl Baker said Friday.

He had been hiding wrong a 5-foot heavy actual abstraction nether nan home, which forced officers to region nan beforehand wall of nan house, Baker said.

Anderson, nan territory attorney, described nan abstraction arsenic akin to a “homemade basement” area underneath nan mobile home.

When officers discovered him, Sparks, who was equipped and barricaded, attempted to sprout himself but his limb misfired, constabulary said. After “lengthy negotiations” pinch officers, Sparks surrendered voluntarily, Baker said.

A time aft Sparks was arrested, firefighters and cadaver dogs recovered quality remains nether his location and spent respective days searching nan site, constabulary said.

The hunt took days because of nan authorities of nan property, its imaginable illness and nan request to region debris pinch dense equipment.

Tolber declined to talk much specifications astir nan remains and noted that constabulary don’t person a logic to judge location are different victims.