Georgia man arrested in 1985 church murders of Black couple after original suspect spent 2 decades in prison
A southeast Georgia man has been arrested and charged in the 1985 slayings of a couple at a black church after the original suspect, who spent 20 years in prison, was exonerated by DNA evidence, authorities said.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation said in a statement that Erik Kristensen Sparre, 61, was charged with murdering Harold Swain and Thelma Swain. Thelma Swain was serving time in prison on felony murder and aggravated assault charges. Press release on Monday. Nearly four decades after Spahr’s arrest, the couple was shot to death inside Daughters of the Rising Baptist Church in coastal Camden County.
Spahr became the focus of a renewed investigation into the Swains’ deaths after authorities concluded they initially charged the wrong people.
In 2003, a jury convicted Dennis Perry of Swains Band’s murder and he was sentenced to life in prison. He spent two decades in prison until a Superior Court judge ordered a retrial in 2020. A judge dismissed all charges against Perry in 2021 after prosecutors asked that the case be dropped.
Georgia Innocence Project
Investigators and courts took another look at the case after attorneys with the Georgia Innocence Project conducted DNA testing on hair found in the hinge of a pair of glasses next to the victim’s body. They said the DNA matched Spahr, who had been considered a suspect, not Perry.
Meanwhile, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution report Spahr’s alibi was that he was working in a grocery store at the time of the killings, but that couldn’t be true. The newspaper also challenged Perry’s conviction, noting that jurors were never told that the key witness was paid $12,000 before testifying.
The newspaper previously reported that Spahr’s ex-wife, Emily Head, told police in 1986 that Spahr admitted to the murder in a phone message recorded by her family. report.
The GBI said Spahr was arrested in Waynesville, where he lives, about 90 miles southwest of Savannah, Georgia, and was booked into the Camden County Jail. according to jail recordshe was charged with two counts of murder and two counts of aggravated assault.
Spahr has previously denied killing Swain. Spahr’s phone number was unavailable Tuesday, and it was unclear whether he had an attorney representing him.
Since his release from prison, the original suspect, Perry, has been spending time with his wife and reconnecting with family and friends, according to police. Georgia Innocence Project.
“It took a long time, but I never gave up,” Perry told the group after his 2021 acquittal. “This indictment has been hanging over my head for over 20 years and it’s a relief that I finally don’t have to worry about being accused of this horrific thing.” “
