The man accused of killing and dismembering two elderly neighbors at a Redlands nudist resort pleaded not guilty to two counts of murder on Monday, Sept. 9, and he denied sentencing enhancements that could send him to the death chamber if he is convicted as charged.
Michael Royce Sparks, 62, appeared at the San Bernardino Justice Center in San Bernardino alongside San Bernardino County Chief Deputy Public Defender Yarrow Neubert. She entered the pleas on Sparks’ behalf.
When Superior Court Judge Donna Gunnell Garza asked Sparks if he was willing to waive his right to a speedy trial, he answered, “Yes.”
The next hearing was set for Oct. 18.
The start of Monday’s hearing was delayed briefly while Sparks changed into a light-gray shirt, dark-gray slacks, black tie and black shoes that were brought to the courtroom. Chains binding his wrists and ankles could be heard clanging as they were removed and re-fastened as he undressed and dressed in a holding area just outside the courtroom.
The special circumstance sentencing enhancements are allegations that Sparks committed multiple murders — the slayings of Dan Menard, 79, and his wife, Stephanie, 73. District Attorney Jason Anderson said Monday that he had not decided whether to seek the death penalty or life in state prison without parole.
Supervising Deputy District Attorney Lisa Crane argued for Sparks to be held without bail. Nuebert did not oppose the request, which was granted.
Two neighbors of the Menards who sat in the third-floor courtroom declined to be interviewed. It did not appear that any family members of the Menards or Sparks attended.
Anderson on Monday declined to discuss a possible motive for the killings.
The Menards were reported missing on Aug. 25 and appeared to have vanished without a moment’s notice. Stephanie Menard’s purse was in their mobile home with her husband’s cellphone. Their car was found down the street from the resort, which is nestled in the hills of Reche Canyon on the southeastern outskirts of Colton.
Four days after their disappearance, a Sparks relative told police that he had admitted to killing the Menards and was threatening suicide, Police Chief Rachel Tolber said. Police found Sparks hiding in a subterranean bunker he had built. Police, aided by a San Bernardino County sheriff’s cadaver dog, later found the Menards’ remains in the same location.
The couple’s white shih tzu, Cuddles, also went missing and has not been found.
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