Sparkman case: Police investigating suicide-insurance link

The investigation into Bill Sparkman's death is still ongoing, however, Kentucky state police are said to be investigating whether Sparkman might have killed himself in order for his family to get his insurance.

The word is that Bill Sparkman arranged his suicide to look like a murder, thus making his son eligible for insurance benefits. The son, Josh Sparkman, said that he doesn't know anything about his dad's insurance policy, and added that the police have not provided him with a certificate of death. Witnesses who found Sparkman's body on September 12 in a remote part of Kentucky had said they thought the body was bound at hand and foot, as well as being gagged. Josh insists that his father's death is suspicious, pointing to the fact that his father's census laptop is missing, as well as other items that his father kept in his truck, which was found at the location where Sparkman's body was found. The Associated Press said that two investigators spoke to them anonymously. The investigators discounted the idea of a murder, saying that the binding of Bill Sparkman's hands with duct tape was loose enough to have allowed the man to manipulate a rope. The investigators also said Sparkman's body being in contact with the ground also lent strength to the suicide theory. Backing up this theory, the investigators hold, is the fact that Sparkman had no defensive wounds on his hands or arms. Speaking on the record, Kentucky State Police Capt. Lisa Rudzinski wouldn't comment on the insurance angle, and told Associated Press the cause of Bill Sparkman's death was still undetermined. She reiterated that police were still waiting for forensic test results to come back. Josh Sparkman has maintained that his father, having just vigorously and successfully fighting a battle with cancer, would not commit suicide. 51 year-old Bill Sparkman was working at several part-time jobs at the time of his death. Sparkman had recently graduated from teacher's college, having gotten his certification while fighting cancer. Bill Sparkman's body was released to his family in late October, but Josh Sparkman could not afford to bury his father, so his father's remains were interred by Kentucky. A memorial service was held on October 27. Friends and family are frustrated by the lack of movement in the investigation into Sparkman's death. Almost one month ago, Kentucky State Police Capt. Lisa Rudzinski told press that she expected they would crack the case within a few weeks. Bill Sparkman's body had been found by family visiting a Kentucky graveyard in the Daniel Boone National Forest. Sparkman was naked, bound at hand and foot with duct tape, as well as gagged with duct tape. The family that found Sparkman's body also said the man's eyes were closed with tape. A rope was around Sparkman's neck, the work "Fed" written on his chest and his census identification taped to his neck. Josh Sparkman has told the Associated Press that he's having trouble covering the bills. The 19-year old has had some support from friends and the public.