The guy accused of killing a couple at a nudist resort allegedly did it over a hot dog.
Michael Royce Sparks, 62, was charged in September with two charges of murder under extraordinary circumstances in the murders of Stephanie Menard, 73, and her husband, Daniel Menard, 79.
The pair was reported missing in the desert village of Redlands and last seen at their home on August 24, 2024. They lived at Olive Dell Ranch, which is listed on its website as a residential RV park and nudist resort.
Officials said they discovered the couple’s remains in bags in a concrete bunker beneath Sparks’ home.
According to the Press-Enterprise, at a court hearing Monday, a detective claimed that Sparks revealed to another inmate that he murdered his neighbors. He supposedly stated that the final straw was a hot dog.
Redlands police investigator Thomas Williams said that Sparks informed the other inmate that Daniel Menard had given him a hot dog, which he perceived as a strike at him.
“He said Mr. Sparks felt that the hot dog was a jab at him, making him feel like he was only worth a dollar hot dog, and that’s what set him off that day,” the investigator stated in court, according to the Press-Enterprise.
Sparks is accused of savagely hitting the couple with a rake, hoe, and hammer. He also allegedly acknowledged to drowning Menard’s dog, Cuddles, in a sink, Williams testified.
Around the time of the murders, another neighbor informed KABC that Sparks and the Menards had a long history of feuding over a pruned tree.
The neighbor reported that Sparks refused to trim a tree, so Menards did it. That sparked a conflict that lasted over a decade.
“I didn’t think he’d ever be able to do something like this,” Tammie Wilkerson told KABC. “I know he didn’t like them, and he didn’t have a problem telling people that, but I never thought he’d do this.”
Reference: Man allegedly admitted to killing neighbors at nudist resort over a hot dog, detective testifies