Authorities: Hanged Ky. Census Worker Killed Self

Kentucky State Police Capt. Lisa Rudzinski shows how "fed" was written from the bottom up as she...

Kentucky State Police Capt. Lisa Rudzinski shows how "fed" was written from the bottom up as she answers questions regarding the death of Kentucky census worker Bill Sparkman Tuesday, Nov. 24, 2009, at the Kentucky State Police Central Forensic Laboratory in Frankfort, Ky. The Kentucky census worker found naked, bound with duct tape and hanging from a tree with "fed" scrawled on his chest killed himself but staged his death to make it look like a homicide, authorities said Tuesday. (AP Photo/Brian Bohannon)

(AP)

When an eastern Kentucky census worker was found naked, bound with duct tape and hanging from a tree with "fed" scrawled on his chest, suspicion fell on the hardscrabble Appalachian area where bad news seems like a way of life.

Perhaps Bill Sparkman had been a victim of violent anti-government sentiment in an area known for a rampant drug trade and where "revenuer" is still a dirty word.

That speculation was doused Tuesday when authorities said that Sparkman killed himself but staged his death to make it look like a homicide. The conclusion that Sparkman died by his own hands, and not by those of anti-government zealots, was seen by Clay County community activist Doug Abner as a vindication for the area.

"That's a horrible thing that's happened to that fellow," Abner, senior pastor at the nondenominational Community Church in Manchester, said in a phone interview. "But like most Clay countians, I feel like we get a bad rap. It's just a stereotypical thing."

Abner was always skeptical of the speculation that Sparkman may have been a victim of anti-government sentiment, saying "We're really not that bad."

"We're not asking for an apology," he added. "We just want people to start looking at us different."

Sparkman, 51, was found strangled Sept. 12 with a rope around his neck near a cemetery in a heavily wooded area of the Daniel Boone National Forest in southeastern Kentucky.

On Tuesday, authorities for the first time released key details such as Sparkman's wrists being bound so loosely that he could have done the taping himself. Kentucky State Police Capt. Lisa Rudzinski said an analysis found that the "fed" on his chest was written "from the bottom up."

He was touching the ground almost to his knees, and to survive "all Mr. Sparkman had to do at any time was stand up," she said.

Authorities said Sparkman was not under the influence of any drugs or alcohol at the time of his death. His clothes were found in the bed of his nearby pickup truck.