Erik Kristensen Sparre, 61, has been arrested and charged with the nearly 40-year-old double murder of Harold and Thelma Swain at a church in Waverly, Georgia in 1985. The original suspect, Dennis Perry, was exonerated in 2021 based on DNA evidence after spending 20 years in prison for the crime. Witnesses provided descriptions of the killer at the time of the murders, and a pair of glasses found at the crime scene did not belong to anyone at the church. Perry was arrested in 2000 after being identified by a police informant who received a reward, although this payment was not disclosed during the trial. A DNA sample recovered from the glasses did not match Perry, but did match a sample obtained from a relative of Sparre. Sparre was initially cleared as a suspect, but inconsistencies in his alibi were revealed during an investigation by the Georgia Innocence Project and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. In 2020, Perry’s conviction was overturned and he was released from prison. Sparre was arrested in 2021 and charged with two counts of felony murder and aggravated assault for the deaths of the Swains. He was booked into the Camden County Jail, but it is unclear if he has retained legal counsel. The case highlights the importance of DNA evidence and thorough investigation to ensure justice is served.
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Man from Georgia taken into custody for killing couple in church 36 years ago
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