A Southern California couple whose bodies were found under their neighbor’s home after being reported missing died of “blunt force trauma to the head,” the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department said.
Daniel Menard, 79, and his wife, Stehanie Menard, 73, had been reported missing in late August from their home on a nudist ranch in Redlands, sparking a police search and concern from their friends and family.
Less than a week later, police received a tip that their Olive Dell Ranch neighbor, Michael Royce Sparks, 62, had confessed to killing the couple to a family member and threatened to harm himself. Police surrounded the home and took him into custody on August 29, discovering the couple’s bodies in a concrete bunker under the home.
Sparks was charged with two counts of murder on September 3. The couple’s cause of death was confirmed this week by the county medical examiner.
The Menards and their pet shih tzu, Cuddles, were reported missing by a friend after the couple missed a church service. Their car was found unlocked on the road from their home, and Stephanie Menard’s purse and their cell phones were found in their home.
A neighbor told local television stations that Sparks hated the couple and that they were fighting over a tree between their properties. The Redlands Police Department had no comment when asked for an update on a possible motive Tuesday.
At one light vigil for the couple, friends and neighbors gathered under an Olive Dell Ranch sign with candles, flowers and music to celebrate Menard’s life.
“It’s disappointing, it’s unpleasant,” one neighbor said of the killings. “In one week, we as a community at Olive Dell Ranch lost three members of our family.” He characterized Stephanie Menard, with whom he played bingo, as a spitfire. “She knew what she wanted, she meant what she said, but she always did it carefully.”
Olive Dell Ranch is a residential RV park and “the ideal place to enjoy the nudist/naturist lifestyle whether you’re visiting for a day or an overnight stay,” according to its website.