CAMDEN COUNTY, Ga. – As prosecutors prepare for the trial of Erik Sparre, charged with the 1985 murders of Harold and Thelma Swain, a newly published book has revealed a chilling connection involving his son and a notorious Jacksonville murder case.
Harold and Thelma Swain were gunned down inside the Rising Daughter Baptist Church in Spring Bluff 40 years ago. In 2003, Dennis Perry was convicted of killing the Swains. Years later, Perry’s conviction was overturned, leading to a full exoneration.
MORE | Georgia man exonerated in 1985 Camden County double murder awarded $1.23M by state
Prosecutors said new evidence pointed toward a different man, Sparre. Last December, Sparre was arrested and charged with murdering the couple. The case has long haunted the community, with neighbors and parishioners recalling the shock and grief that followed the crime.
In his book “The Man No One Believed: The Untold Story of the Georgia Church Murders,” investigative journalist and former Atlanta Journal-Constitution reporter, Joshua Sharpe, details the Swains’ case and uncovers a startling connection: Erik Sparre’s son, David Sparre, is on Florida’s Death Row for the 2010 murder of Tiara Pool in Jacksonville.
Jacksonville prosecutors confirmed the connection.
The younger Sparre was convicted of stabbing the Navy wife and mother 89 times in what prosecutors called a thrill killing. Joshua Sharpe, who spoke with News4JAX, expressed surprise upon discovering the father-son connection.
“There were people dying to tell me, ‘Hey, do you know who Erik’s son is, right? Have you heard of the Craigslist killer?’” Sharpe said. “There were people who knew that it was extraordinary, that it was going to be something to handle with care.”
The revelation adds a new layer of complexity to the already high-profile case.
Court records from a 2017 evidentiary hearing for David Sparre in Duval County show at one point, his father, Erik Sparre, was a witness. As was his grandmother, Gladys Sparre. Prosecutors said a DNA sample submitted by Gladys Sparre was pivotal in exonerating Dennis Perry and implicating her son, Erik.
As Erik Sparre’s trial approaches, Sharpe emphasizes the importance of remembering the Swains for the kind and loving people they were.
(Watch Below: News4JAX’s archive footage from 1985 when we covered the community’s reaction to the murders and the then ongoing investigation)
“In this case, they were two of the most remarkable people I have ever heard of,” Sharpe said. “The beauty of the memories they left behind and the beauty of the impact they made.”
Court records indicate that Erik Sparre has requested a speedy trial, currently to begin in October.
