Nudist resort resident accused of beating elderly neighbors to death with rake and hammer had ‘snapped’ over hot dog, prosecutors say

A man accused of brutally killing his elderly neighbors at a California nudist resort last summer allegedly snapped over an argument about a hot dog, according to testimony revealed in court this week.

Michael Royce Sparks, 62, is facing murder charges in the August 2024 slayings of Daniel Menard, 79, and Stephanie Menard, 73, at the Olive Dell Ranch Nudist Resort in the Inland Empire area of Redlands, California.

The Menards, who had been married for over 55 years, were reported missing by a friend when they failed to show up for their regular Sunday church attendance, KTLA reported.

A week later, the couple’s dismembered remains were discovered buried in what authorities described as a concrete bunker underneath Sparks's home on the resort grounds and he was arrested.

While in custody at West Valley Detention Center, Sparks confessed to the murders to a fellow inmate and also through letters and text messages with someone outside of the prison, Redlands police Detective Thomas Williams testified during a preliminary hearing on Monday.

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“Chopped up my neighbors,” Sparks allegedly wrote in a note. “Didn’t know I had it in me. SNAPPED.”

According to Williams, in the jailhouse confession, Sparks told another inmate that the deadly confrontation stemmed from a hot dog Daniel Menard had bought for him, according to the Press Enterprise.

“He said Mr. Sparks felt that the hot dog was a jab at him—like he was only worth a dollar,” Williams said. “That’s what set him off that day.”

The inmate told authorities that Sparks admitted to beating the couple with a rake, a hoe, and a hammer. He also allegedly drowned the couple’s small white Shih Tzu Cuddles in a sink during the attack.

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When a former coworker reached out to him during the police investigation, he reportedly acknowledged he was the focus of the search and claimed he had planned to die by suicide, but his gun jammed.

Sparks, who appeared in court Monday, has been ordered to stand trial. He remains in custody without bail.

No trial date has been set.