The man accused of murdering his elderly neighbors at a California nudist resort was reportedly driven into a rage when he was offered a hot dog.
Michael Sparks, 62, is charged with the brutal August 2024 slayings of Daniel Menard, 79, and Stephanie Menard, 73, at the Olive Dell Ranch Nudist Resort in the Inland Empire. According to testimony at a court hearing this week, Sparks allegedly confessed to another inmate that he beat the couple to death with a rake, a hoe and a hammer — all over what he perceived as a slight, the Press-Enterprise reported.
Redlands Police Detective Thomas Williams testified that Sparks felt disrespected after Daniel Menard bought him a hot dog, interpreting the gesture as an indication that he was "only worth a dollar."
Sparks went on to drown the couple's dog, Cuddles, in a sink and allegedly admitted to the killings in a text message to a former coworker.
"Chopped up my neighbors," he allegedly wrote. "Didn't know I had it in me. SNAPPED."
Sparks was arrested a week later after an armed standoff with police that ended when Sparks attempted to shoot himself, but his rifle misfired. Law enforcement discovered him in a concrete bunker beneath his home, along with human remains, KTLA reported at the time.
He remains in custody at the West Valley Detention Center.
Originally published on Lawyer Herald
