California nudist community ‘on edge’ after ‘nightmare’ double murder; neighbor arrested

Members of an outdoor nudist resort of Los Angeles said their once idyllic community has dissolved into a “nightmare” after a California couple’s neighbor was charged with murder.

“It’s a nightmare,” Tony Wiley, 69, told People. “You hear things like this on the news, but you never imagine it would be one of your friends, and in such a bizarre way.”

Laurie Riffel, 69, said residents of the mall are feeling “on edge” after the double murder.

“There’s a dark cloud hanging over us,” she said. “There’s just a feeling of being on guard all the time, a fear that you’re not safe here.”

Neighbor of nudist resort in California charged with murder after couple disappears

The sense of unease came after Redlands police announced the arrest of 62-year-old Michael Sparks on Aug. 30 following the deaths of Stephanie and Daniel Menard at the Olive Dell Ranch in Colton. He was later charged with two counts of murder.

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At a news conference following the discovery of the Menards’ remains, City of Redlands spokesman Carl Baker said Sparks was found under his home Thursday evening after not responding to police for hours.

He had been hiding in a 5-foot-deep concrete space beneath the house, prompting officers to remove the front wall of the house, police said.

Baker said the suspect tried to commit suicide when police first discovered he was hiding.

“He had a gun and he tried to kill himself when the police discovered him, but the gun misfired,” Baker said.

The next morning, a cadaver dog was used to search for the couple’s bodies at Sparks’ home. Baker said: “The dog alerted, indicating the presence of a body somewhere under the house.”

Members of the clothing-optional community told People that tensions between the Menards and Sparks reached a breaking point over the pruning of a tree that shaded their property.

“I’ve talked to them and I know they had an issue with a tree being cut down because branches were going to the Menards’ house,” Tony Garrett, 63, told People. ‘But I can’t say that’s all. I can’t say it’s just one thing.’

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“When I first came here, he told me which neighbors he liked, which neighbors he could live without, and then he pointed in their direction. He says, ‘And I hate those bastards,'” Tammie Wilkerson, 61, said People.

“I’m like, ‘Dang, Sparky, that’s a little rough.’ And then he told me that thing about the tree. I thought it’s a lot to hate someone. There could be other reasons.

‘I don’t know if this is the cause or if he just cut one day. I really don’t know.”

Residents remembered the couple for their warm personalities.

“They had a great house for the both of them and their dog,” the couple’s friend Michelle Ann Archambault Reese told People. “They had a beautiful patio outside where they could relax. He was just someone you wanted to hug. They were just wonderful people.”

Neighbors said Sparks seemed more of a loner.

“You saw him every now and then, but most of all he loved his hot tub,” Garrett said. “He wasn’t a bad guy. He was no different from the other residents. Just a little quieter, a little more reserved.’

“He said he hated the ‘textile world’ and that he had always been a nudist for as long as he could remember,” Wilkerson told the outlet.

Original article source: California nudist community ‘on edge’ after ‘nightmare’ double murder; neighbor arrested