Found Deceased KY - Savannah Spurlock, 22, left 'The Other Bar' with 2 men, Richmond, 4 Jan 2019 #5 *Arrest*

[cherrymeg]

Are they sure she was there the entire time? Being folded in half could mean she was fit into something else. Digging up the ground in the winter would have been hard and maybe noticed by others.

 

[wary]

Yeah, I would think it was gradual and then came on really strong. Imo

Based on hearing that the black plastic was exposed in places, I suspect that animals dug, exposed it, tore it open, and that’s what made the smell come on really strong.

Just my speculation

 

[ab01]

Are they sure she was there the entire time? Being folded in half could mean she was fit into something else. Digging up the ground in the winter would have been hard and maybe noticed by others.

LE seems to be convinced that she had been there since January 5th at the latest.

Soil temperatures were in the45-50 degree range at that time

It would not have been difficult to dig a 20” deep hole imo under these circumstances

With that said I also wouldn’t be surprised if DS tried to conceal the burial site with firewood, pallets, random Junk or what have you

Jmo

 

[jULIA_bEE]

Hey Julia, fellow KY girl here. I don't think it's been as hot here as it has in the past summers, it waited a little later to get stifling. We've also had a lot of rain this year, if she was buried in a shaded area do you think it's possible that slowed the decomposition? I do agree it was extremely shallow and odd they didn't notice or smell something earlier. There has to be more to this to explain how they missed her in the earlier search. The ground was frozen solid when she was buried and likely did not grow back quickly.

It’s possible! I just have a really hard time believing they just started smelling the body. It’s such a distinct, pungent smell and I think it would hard to miss once it started getting hot and in the 80s. I had read where parts of the bag were sticking out of the ground so maybe an animal got into them and ripped them open, making the smell stronger.

I noticed that they have a pool in their backyard and it looks pretty new. I just don’t understand how they could be out there and not notice the odor. I wonder if his dad had noticed the smell earlier and tried to explain it away in his head.

 

[BlinkOfAnI]

This may not be a well received comment but I agree with Mr. Spurlock. It must have been incredibly hard to realize your son was involved in a murder and to come to the realization he buried her on YOUR property. Devastating, and I do not mean to take anything from the Spurlock's because that kind of devastation, loosing a child, is incomparable and there are just no words to take that pain away.

I totally agree with you. Unless fact shows otherwise I have great sympathy for the parents.

 

[BlinkOfAnI]

It’s possible! I just have a really hard time believing they just started smelling the body. It’s such a distinct, pungent smell and I think it would hard to miss once it started getting hot and in the 80s. I had read where parts of the bag were sticking out of the ground so maybe an animal got into them and ripped them open, making the smell stronger.

I noticed that they have a pool in their backyard and it looks pretty new. I just don’t understand how they could be out there and not notice the odor. I wonder if his dad had noticed the smell earlier and tried to explain it away in his head.

Having grown up in a country/farm setting it is very possible the father may have smelled decomposition and thought nothing of it until it either got worse or didn't go away. If something disturbed the site it could also make a difference.

 

[Kyshoegal]

It’s possible! I just have a really hard time believing they just started smelling the body. It’s such a distinct, pungent smell and I think it would hard to miss once it started getting hot and in the 80s. I had read where parts of the bag were sticking out of the ground so maybe an animal got into them and ripped them open, making the smell stronger.

I noticed that they have a pool in their backyard and it looks pretty new. I just don’t understand how they could be out there and not notice the odor. I wonder if his dad had noticed the smell earlier and tried to explain it away in his head.

It also looks like the lawn was very well taken care of, not overgrown with well kept grass. It's a big yard and I think it just depends on exactly where she was found, who mows the yard? I mean it's likely DS mowed it since he was living at home. I can't imagine he would have put her in a place with a lot of traffic but then only dug 19 inches? From all accounts his parents seem like good, decent people. Who wants to think your child is capable of that? I'm sure they smelled it before they reported it, maybe initially thought a dead deer, coyote or something in the field behind them. Then the time finally comes and it reached the point you simply have to face facts. Notice they did NOT dig or disturb anything to try and find out what the smell was. I think deep down they knew but again who wants to believe that about their own child?. We had a rancid smell in our barn and my grandfather tore that barn apart looking for what was causing the smell. A cat had crawled up in the hay baler and got killed, now none of us were suspects in a disappearance but he didn't call an attorney he started looking for what was causing it. IMO this was not premeditated, and I think they are waiting for toxicology to charge him with murder, JMO. He has nothing in his past and no one has come forward to say he was a person with a violent history. Doesn't mean he isn't capable of it, I just will be interested to see how the evidence plays out and the autopsy comes back. The fact they only found a small speck of blood on a closet door that had to be found with a chemical is interesting as well. A violent murder would seem to leave more of a mess and we've established he isn't the brightest at hiding evidence. All of course JMO, thinking out loud

 

[cherrymeg]

It’s possible! I just have a really hard time believing they just started smelling the body. It’s such a distinct, pungent smell and I think it would hard to miss once it started getting hot and in the 80s. I had read where parts of the bag were sticking out of the ground so maybe an animal got into them and ripped them open, making the smell stronger.

I noticed that they have a pool in their backyard and it looks pretty new. I just don’t understand how they could be out there and not notice the odor. I wonder if his dad had noticed the smell earlier and tried to explain it away in his head.

There is an image of a pool. Could an overflow of water pushed things to the surface? Could the winter and bags made things more mummified? Or had there been a slower decomp over those months that wouldn't have caused an obvious smell? Unless you buried a body there.

 

[jULIA_bEE]

It also looks like the lawn was very well taken care of, not overgrown with well kept grass. It's a big yard and I think it just depends on exactly where she was found, who mows the yard? I mean it's likely DS mowed it since he was living at home. I can't imagine he would have put her in a place with a lot of traffic but then only dug 19 inches? From all accounts his parents seem like good, decent people. Who wants to think your child is capable of that? I'm sure they smelled it before they reported it, maybe initially thought a dead deer, coyote or something in the field behind them. Then the time finally comes and it reached the point you simply have to face facts. Notice they did NOT dig or disturb anything to try and find out what the smell was. I think deep down they knew but again who wants to believe that about their own child?. We had a rancid smell in our barn and my grandfather tore that barn apart looking for what was causing the smell. A cat had crawled up in the hay baler and got killed, now none of us were suspects in a disappearance but he didn't call an attorney he started looking for what was causing it. IMO this was not premeditated, and I think they are waiting for toxicology to charge him with murder, JMO. He has nothing in his past and no one has come forward to say he was a person with a violent history. Doesn't mean he isn't capable of it, I just will be interested to see how the evidence plays out and the autopsy comes back. The fact they only found a small speck of blood on a closet door that had to be found with a chemical is interesting as well. A violent murder would seem to leave more of a mess and we've established he isn't the brightest at hiding evidence. All of course JMO, thinking out loud

I definitely think DS’s parents are good people. They’re victims in this whole thing as well. I just wonder if they had suspicions early on and maybe tried to ignore the signs.

 

[jULIA_bEE]

There is an image of a pool. Could an overflow of water pushed things to the surface? Could the winter and bags made things more mummified? Or had there been a slower decomp over those months that wouldn't have caused an obvious smell? Unless you buried a body there.

The pool wasn’t real close to where I think she was buried, it was close enough to be able to smell a dead body though. It’s a distinct smell and it’s STRONG. It doesn’t take long for it to start, and even after a body is removed, the smell can linger for a long time. Since they were able to identify her from her fingerprints and tattoos, I think she was probably still covered in a lot of her tissue. There are quite a few good articles on the stages of decomp, it’s unsettling to read but there’s a lot of good information out there about how long each stage typically lasts.

 

[rsd1200]

Are they sure she was there the entire time? Being folded in half could mean she was fit into something else. Digging up the ground in the winter would have been hard and maybe noticed by others.

I think they said she'd been there awhile, but, I tend to believe, myself, that she was moved, at least once, in between him moving her from his home, to his parent's home.

"I don't believe there's any indication that she was placed there recently," he said. "I think that the odor (from the remains) ... that's what led us there."

Savannah Spurlock's remains found after long search; man arrested - CNN

It reads below, that he visited his parent's property for two hours, on the evening of Jan 4th. He returned to his parents home, in the early a.m. of Jan. 5. January 5th was a Saturday. They didn't say how long he was there on the 5th. He may have put her in the boot of the car while he was trying to find a place to bury her and went back the next day to bury her in the barn/shed/etc...

Note: I just found this particularly odd. "During Monday’s testimony, Chavies said Sparks had texted his sister on Jan. 4 to ask her where she bought a rug because he wanted to buy another one." ? Just go buy another rug.

https://www.kentucky.com/news/local/crime/article232677437.html

 

[ardean]

It’s possible! I just have a really hard time believing they just started smelling the body. It’s such a distinct, pungent smell and I think it would hard to miss once it started getting hot and in the 80s. I had read where parts of the bag were sticking out of the ground so maybe an animal got into them and ripped them open, making the smell stronger.

I noticed that they have a pool in their backyard and it looks pretty new. I just don’t understand how they could be out there and not notice the odor. I wonder if his dad had noticed the smell earlier and tried to explain it away in his head.

That's exactly what happened. Animals entered the shallow grave, speeding up decomp. I have seen/smelled this with cattle.

 

[Kaykayy]

Note: I just found this particularly odd. "During Monday’s testimony, Chavies said Sparks had texted his sister on Jan. 4 to ask her where she bought a rug because he wanted to buy another one." ? Just go buy another rug.

https://www.kentucky.com/news/local/crime/article232677437.html

I found this really odd too, he had to already know Walmart sold rugs. Can’t wrap my head around why he would ask his sister something like that. I also felt that text must’ve made the hairs on the back of his sisters neck stand up after figuring out a girl went missing after last being seen at his house, it’s too bad she never put a tip in the tip box if she did have suspicions.

 

[rsd1200]

**May be considered graphic**

DS parents barely have an acre lot. There's lots of farmland in front and a couple homes close to theirs. A lot of times farmers will pull a dead calf or cow to the back of their farm and let nature take its course, and odor of dead deer can be noted as you drive through the countryside, or on the parkways. I don't think he truly knew, though, til he called. He likely never dreamt she was buried on his lot. She was wrapped in plastic bags, along with the rug.

Police testified in court Monday that 23-year-old Savannah Spurlock's naked remains were found buried in a shallow grave and wrapped in a rug and garbage bags, with her feet bound.

(a)

Police: Savannah Spurlock's remains found naked, bound in shallow grave

I think that slowed down the decomp, because they identified her, by her tattoos, and fingerprints, and it had been seven months since she disappeared.

Investigators were able to confirm the body was Spurlock by using her tattoos and fingerprints, Chavies said.

https://www.kentucky.com/news/local/crime/article232677437.html

Normally, one month after death — the body starts to liquify, and by four months, is liquified. That would have made the above forms of identification, impossible. JM 2¢
The Stages Of Human Decomposition | Aftermath Services

How quickly do humans decompose;

The time taken for a body to decompose can vary greatly due to a wide range of factors that can affect the process. Perhaps the most significant factor in the rate of decomposition is temperature and environment. Warmer temperatures will accelerate the process of decomposition whereas colder temperatures will slow the process down and, if cold enough, stop it altogether. The temperature will equally affect insect succession, which will ultimately affect how quickly the body is broken down. Environmental conditions will equally affect the species of insect present in the area, in turn having an effect on the state of the corpse depending on the species colonizing the remains. A dry and windy environment can dehydrate a cadaver, resulting in mummification (see above).

The amount of protection a body has will also play a role in the rate of decomposition. For instance, a body swaddled in blankets or buried under a few feet of soil will be significantly less exposed than a naked, unburied cadaver exposed to the elements. A protected body may also limit insect activity, resulting in a slower rate of decomposition if insects cannot easily access the corpse, in addition to retaining body heat.

Decomposition – The Forensics Library

 

[rsd1200]

I found this really odd too, he had to already know Walmart sold rugs. Can’t wrap my head around why he would ask his sister something like that. I also felt that text must’ve made the hairs on the back of his sisters neck stand up after figuring out a girl went missing after last being seen at his house, it’s too bad she never put a tip in the tip box if she did have suspicions.

Yes, that weirded me out, I can only imagine how she feels right now. Maybe he was just kind fishing, to see if she'd mention anyone seeing him out there, either of those two days. Hoping she'd mention it, if so.

 

[rsd1200]

It's possible this is why the dog(s) didn't pick up on anything;

Sarah Everts, a senior editor at C&EN, notes that searching for a signature smell of decomposing human bodies is a complicated endeavor. The specific chemicals that waft off of a corpse depend on a number of factors, including time, temperature, humidity and even a person’s lifelong diet. When cadaver-dog trainers don’t have access to a deceased human, they sometimes teach their animals to search for human corpses using the commonly touted “death scent” molecules putrescine and cadaverine. But researchers have found that these compounds don’t always actually emanate from corpses.

Understanding the scent of death - American Chemical Society

 

[Batearedfreak]

I found this really odd too, he had to already know Walmart sold rugs. Can’t wrap my head around why he would ask his sister something like that. I also felt that text must’ve made the hairs on the back of his sisters neck stand up after figuring out a girl went missing after last being seen at his house, it’s too bad she never put a tip in the tip box if she did have suspicions.

Because he wanted an identical one in case someone noticed the old one was gone and asked why?

 

[margarita25]

Horrible to read the latest developments.

Sounds like this perp and Mackenzie Lueck’s perp have a lot in common, moo.

Horrific.

 

[Seattle1]

I found this really odd too, he had to already know Walmart sold rugs. Can’t wrap my head around why he would ask his sister something like that. I also felt that text must’ve made the hairs on the back of his sisters neck stand up after figuring out a girl went missing after last being seen at his house, it’s too bad she never put a tip in the tip box if she did have suspicions.

I thought he was trying to replace the missing rug with identical one, and that's why he asked. Maybe his sister purchased the first rug.... MOO

 

[Criminal Justice mom]

I apologize if its already been Has it discussed, but does anyone recall if Sparks was currently employed at the time of his arrest following the discovery of SS's body at his parents? Was he employeed at the time SS went missing? If so what did he/what does he do for work? T.I.A.