A Georgia man was recently arrested and charged for the 1985 murder of a couple in a historic Black church after the original person suspected of the crime was exonerated.
Announced on Monday, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation announced that 61-year-old Erik Kristensen Sparre was arrested on two counts of murder and two counts of aggravated assault for the murders of Harold and Thelma Swain.
The arrest comes four years after an investigation looking into Sparre’s involvement began. On May 13, 2020, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, also known as the GBI, reopened the case of the Swains after testing the DNA of strands of hair found in a pair of eyeglasses near the victims’ bodies. The DNA found matched with Sparre’s DNA.
Three months later, they searched his home, obtaining a search warrant and finding sufficient evidence to lead to the subsequent arrest.
Sparre previously denied his involvement, claiming that he was working at a grocery store when the Swains were killed. Per the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, however, the jurors were not told that payment was given to a vital witness before they were set to take the stand. His ex-wife, Emily Head, also reportedly told the police that Sparre confessed to the murders in 1986 in a recorded phone message.
The GBI has arrested 61 y/o Erik Sparre for the 1985 murders of Deacon Harold and Thelma Swain at Rising Daughter Baptist Church in Camden County.
— Everything Georgia (@GAFollowers) December 10, 2024
Dennis Perry, convicted for the crime in 2003, was released after 20 years when new DNA evidence linked Sparre to the crime. pic.twitter.com/4SB4WaEkW2
The re-opening of the case comes as authorities announced that the wrong man was initially prosecuted for the murder. Dennis Perry was originally identified as the suspect, spending decades in prison before a retrial was held in 2020. With the approval of the judicial judge, in 2021, charges against Perry were dismissed.
“I never gave up,” said Perry to the Georgia Innocence Project after his release in 2021. “This indictment has been hanging over my head for over 20 years, and it’s such a relief to finally not have to worry about being accused of this awful thing.”
On March 11, 1985, a man walked into the Rising Daughter Baptist Church to speak to 66-year-old Harold Swain, a church deacon.
Once the men went to the vestibule to speak, witness Vanzola Williams left the church to go to her car when the eight women in the church heard a scuffle and four gunshots. Harold’s wife, 63-year-old Thelma Swain, ran to the vestibule, where she was also shot.
The couple passed away as a result of their injuries as their line to the telephone had been cut, delaying the help of 911.
