REDLANDS, Calif. (KTLA) — The man who allegedly killed his neighbors at a California nudist resort last August reportedly did so over a hot dog.
Michael Sparks, 62, is accused of killing Daniel Menard, 79, and Stephanie Menard, 73, in August 2024. According to investigators, human remains were discovered beneath Sparks’ residence at the Olive Dell Ranch Nudist Resort.
Those remains were later determined to belong to Daniel and Stephanie Menard, and Sparks was charged in the couple’s murder.
Sparks and the Menards did not get along, but as detailed in a court hearing Monday, the final straw was a hot dog, the Press-Enterprise reports.
An inmate at the West Valley Detention Center informed authorities that Sparks had confessed to the murders and detailed how he viciously attacked the couple using a rake, hoe, and hammer, as testified by Redlands police Detective Thomas Williams.
“The inmate mentioned that Mr. Sparks explained the incident began over a hot dog that Daniel Menard bought for him,” Williams stated. “He said Mr. Sparks felt the hot dog was an insult, suggesting he was worth only that, which triggered his actions that day.”
He also admitted to drowning the Menard’s dog, Cuddles, in a sink, Williams testified.
Additionally, Sparks allegedly admitted to the killings in text messages.
When a former coworker checked in on him amid the search at Olive Dell, he confirmed to her that he was the subject of the search and that he planned on killing himself that day. Prosecutors say Sparks tried, but his gun jammed.
“Chopped up my neighbors,” he allegedly wrote. “Didn’t know I had it in me. SNAPPED.”
