A man accused of murdering his neighbours at a nudist resort amid a decade-long feud snapped over a hot dog, a court has heard.
Michael Royce Sparks, 62, is said to have bludgeoned Daniel Menard, 79, and his wife Stephanie, 73, at Olive Dell Ranch in Southern California last August.
The couple’s bodies were found in bags in a concrete bunker underneath Sparks’ home five days after they were reported missing by worried friends.
Authorities have not revealed a motive in the killings, but a neighbour told local media at the time that Sparks hated the Menards and that they argued over a tree between their properties.
During a court hearing this week, a detective testified that Sparks had confessed to the killings to another inmate.
Redlands police detective Thomas Williams told the court Sparks said he was driven over the edge after feeling humiliated when Mr Menard gave him a hot dog.
‘He said Mr. Sparks felt that the hot dog was a jab at him, making him feel like he was worth only a dollar hot dog, and that’s what set him off that day,’ Mr Williams said.
The court heard he also sent a text message to a friend asking about the search for the Menards after seeing it on the news: ‘Chopped up my neighbors. Didn’t know I had it in me. SNAPPED.’
Mr Williams said the couple were killed with a rake, a hoe and a hammer, adding that their bodies were then taken down into Sparks’ concrete bunker.
There, he is said to have mutilated Mr Menard’s body and dismembered Mrs Menard.
The prosecutor said Sparks also admitted drowning the couple’s Shih Tzu, Cuddles, in a sink and throwing away her body.
The couple and their dog were last seen on August 24 and reported missing to the Redlands Police Department by a worried friend.
Five days after they went missing, searchers found their remains.
‘Sparks) didn’t like the Menards,’ neighbour Tammie Wilkerson told KTTV-TV.
‘He said it many times that he hated them, but I never thought he’d do something like this.’
The couple’s unlocked car was found near their residence in Olive Dell Ranch, and both their phones and Stephanie Menard’s purse were still inside their home.
Daniel Menard was described as a diabetic with dementia.
Olive Dell Ranch is a family, and couples-friendly nudist resort in Colton, California, that is an ‘ideal spot to enjoy the nudist/naturist lifestyle whether visiting for the day or an overnight stay,’ according to its website.
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