San Bernardino County authorities have released the cause of death of an elderly couple who disappeared from a nudist ranch in Redlands earlier this month.
The San Bernardino County coroner determined that Stephanie Menard, 73, and Daniel Menard, 79, died of blunt force trauma to the head and classified their deaths as homicides. Neighbors last saw the couple alive on Aug. 24 at their home in the Olive Dell Ranch nudist resort.
The community became concerned after the couple failed to show up the next day to church.
Sandy Marinelli
What happened after the couple disappeared?
Redlands police began searching for the Menards shortly after they were reported missing. They suspected foul play in the disappearance of the elderly couple, after someone told them that their neighbor might have been involved.
“We suspect foul play,” said Redlands spokesman Carl Baker. “While we were here, knocking on doors and canvassing the area, we received information that there was someone who may be involved in the couple’s disappearance.”
The tip led to an hours-long standoff between police and neighbor Michael Royce Sparks, 62. After learning that Sparks was armed, officers attempted to coax him out of the building before destroying his home with armored vehicles. Once the house was leveled, police found Sparks in a concrete chamber beneath his home, which prosecutors described as a “man-made basement-like space.”
“He did have a gun and was trying to kill himself when police discovered him, but the gun malfunctioned,” Baker said the day after Sparks’ arrest.
Police dogs found human remains, later determined to be the Menardsalong with “bags full of evidence” the next morning.
“I just want them back,” said Sandy Marinelli, who has been friends with the couple for more than a decade. “They don’t deserve this. … They’re just good people. They go to church. They don’t deserve any of this.”
Michael Royce sparks
Immediately following the confrontation, police arrested Sparks for the deaths of the elderly couple. Days later, San Bernardino County District Attorney Jason Anderon charged Sparks with two counts of murder with a special charge of multiple murdersProsecutors would not say whether the alleged murder was premeditated.
Tammie Wilkerson, who also lives on the ranch, said Sparks had an ongoing dispute with the Menards.
“He didn’t like them. He hated them, and he told me that many times,” Wilkerson said. “It’s such a stupid reason. They had a tree that was on their property line, and Dan would go and trim the branches and he hated it. That was his hatred for them.”
He begged not guilty early September. He is expected to appear in court again on October 18.
