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

By Nicole Chavez, CNN

(CNN) — A man was charged with murder on suspicion of killing his neighbors at a California nudist resort, San Bernardino County District Attorney Jason Anderson announced Tuesday afternoon in a news conference.

Michael Royce Sparks, 62, is facing two counts of murder in connection with the deaths of missing couple Daniel and Stephanie Menard, who are 79 and 73, authorities said.

The couple was last seen on August 24 at their home in the Olive Dell Ranch resort in San Bernardino County. Human remains were found underneath Sparks’ home after he was arrested last week, following a tense and lengthy standoff.

Police have said they believe the remains are those of the Menards, who lived next door.

“We know they’re dead, and we know there’s two victims,” Anderson said about the reasoning for the charges.

Sparks is set to appear in court Wednesday and is ineligible for bail, jail records show. CNN has been unable to identify an attorney for Sparks or locate family members.

• Redlands Police Chief Rachel Tolber said one of Sparks’ relatives led them to him. Hours prior to his arrest last week, a family member called police saying he was involved in the Menards’ disappearance.

He “had admitted to killing two people and was threatening suicide,” Tolber said about Sparks.

“I believe that there may have been other people that were texted, but the initial call that started our focus on him was from the family,” Tolber added.

Officials couldn’t discuss a potential motive for the killings and Anderson said it did not appear to be planned.

A couple vanishes

Police had been looking for the couple in the hills and canyon area around Olive Dell Ranch. The resort is between the southern California cities of Redlands and Colton, about 65 miles east of Los Angeles.

The search began after a friend who lives in the resort became worried for the Menards when they didn’t attend Sunday church service as usual. Their dog Cuddles, a white shih tzu, remains missing, police said on Tuesday.

Irene Engkraf, who identified herself as the person who contacted police about the Menards, told reporters last week that she saw the their car sitting “abandoned” down the road from their home.

When she entered the couple’s home using a spare key, Engkraf said she saw Stephanie’s purse and both of the Menards’ phones. Then she called 911 and hospitals in the area, searching for news of her friends.

A tip led to suspect’s arrest

After receiving a tip from Sparks’ family, police locked down the resort because they learned that he could be armed and barricaded, Tolber said.

Officers had been looking for him for several hours when they used a battering ram and a drone to search Sparks’ home, police said. They located him with a camera used to evaluate sewer blockages, Redlands Police Department spokesman Carl Baker said Friday.

He had been hiding inside a 5-foot deep concrete space under the home, which forced officers to remove the front wall of the house, Baker said.

Anderson, the district attorney, described the space as similar to a “homemade basement” area underneath the mobile home.

When officers discovered him, Sparks, who was armed and barricaded, attempted to shoot himself but his weapon misfired, police said. After “lengthy negotiations” with officers, Sparks surrendered voluntarily, Baker said.

A day after Sparks was arrested, firefighters and cadaver dogs found human remains under his home and spent several days searching the site, police said.

The search took days because of the state of the property, its potential collapse and the need to remove debris with heavy equipment.

Tolber declined to discuss more details about the remains and noted that police don’t have a reason to believe there are other victims.

This story has been updated with additional information.

The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2024 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.