A man suspected of killing Daniel and Stephanie Menard at a nudist ranch in Southern California faces two counts of murder with a special circumstance that could lengthen his sentence if convicted, authorities announced Sept. 3.
Michael Royce Sparks, 62, is expected to be formally charged Wednesday in San Bernardino County Superior Court, District Attorney Jason Anderson said at a news conference Tuesday.
Sparks remained in custody in lieu of $1 million bail at the West Valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga. The special circumstance was attached because of the multiple victims involved, according to Anderson.
Police investigators found the remains of two people believed to be the Menards in the basement of Sparks’s house last weekend after a lengthy search of the Redlands property, located next door to the couple’s house.
A friend of Stephanie Menard, 73, and her husband Daniel, 79, reported the couple missing Aug. 25 from their home in the Olive Dell Ranch nudist park. They were last seen Aug. 24.
When police arrived at their home Aug. 25, they found the couple’s vehicle down the road with the keys in the ignition.
Inside the home, detectives found Stephanie Menard’s purse and both of their cell phones. The air conditioning and TV were also left running, according to police.
Police used a helicopter and drones to search nearby ravines and the park’s grounds last week.
Police caught a break in the case Thursday when a family member of Sparks contacted them, saying the suspect admitted to killing two people and was threatening suicide, according to Redlands Police Chief Rachel Tolber.
Redlands police immediately locked down Sparks’s home and began searching it. After getting a search warrant, police used a mechanical battering ram owned by the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department to break through the walls of the house, nearly destroying it Thursday.
Detectives waited to shore up the house before they could reenter and search for the suspect and the bodies.
“We called in additional assets to ensure the safety of our officers and the public,” Tolber said.
Sparks was eventually located in a subterranean basement, she said.
“He was, in fact, armed with a rifle, which he attempted to fire in an effort to harm himself,” Tolber said. “The weapon misfired, and Sparks was taken into custody.”
Over the next few days, law enforcement located the remains of two people believed to be the Menards.
Police have not found the couple’s dog, Cuddles, who is also missing, according to Tolber.
“At this time, we have no further information on the whereabouts of the dog,” she said.
The San Bernardino County Coroner’s office has not yet identified the remains or released the cause of death, according to sheriff’s spokeswoman Gloria Huerta.
“They’re still working on it,” Huerta told The Epoch Times.
Results of the coroner’s investigation should be released in the next few days, she added.
