A Southern California couple whose bodies were found under their neighbor’s home after they were 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, were reported missing in late August from their home on a nudist ranch in Redlands, sparking a police search and concern among friends and family.
Less than a week later, police were notified that their neighbor, Michael Royce Sparks, 62, of Olive Dell Ranch, had confessed to killing the couple to a family member and was threatening to harm himself. Police surrounded the home and took him into custody on August 29. They discovered the couple’s bodies in a concrete bunker beneath the house.
Sparks was charged with two counts of murder on Sept. 3. The couple’s cause of death was confirmed this week by the county coroner.
The Menards and their shih tzu, Cuddles, were reported missing by a friend after the couple missed a church service. Their car was found unlocked down the road from their home, and Stephanie Menard’s purse and their cell phones were found inside their home.
A neighbor told local television stations that Sparks hated the couple and that they were arguing over a tree between their properties. The Redlands Police Department had no comment when asked for an update on a possible motive Tuesday.
At a candlelight vigil for the couple, friends and neighbors gathered under an Olive Dell Ranch sign with candles, flowers and music to celebrate the Menards’ lives.
“It’s disheartening, it’s uncomfortable,” one neighbor said of the killings. “In one week, the Olive Dell Ranch community has lost three family members.” He described Stephanie Menard, with whom he played bingo, as a fury. “She knew what she wanted, she meant what she said, but she always did it with kindness.”
Olive Dell Ranch is a residential RV park and “the perfect place to enjoy the nudist/naturist lifestyle, whether for a day or a night,” according to its website.
