MO MO - Dennis Spriggs, 47, LaBelle, 15 July 1992

[Belinda]

I continually find myself open-mouthed and dumbfounded after reading posts here. It is so shocking to me that all of this has been going on for so many years unabated. So many people have suffered. I'm so very sorry. Lucky, I think about you all the time and always check immediately for updates. I hope so very much that you have no long-term effects from the poisoning. I believe you said your daughter was poisoned as well? I hope she is also doing okay. I literally cannot fathom being immersed in the situation you find yourself in. You have shown such strength and clarity. I hope some day that your mother will tell you the truth about all of these things, however I think you are probably right in all of your suppositions. It would not make sense any other way. Stay strong.

 

[lucky2]

Belinda- thank you for being such a caring person to a total stranger... I will admit that this is the emotional equivalent to having surgery and waking up in the middle- I can see why my sisters want to stay asleep. It hurts more than it seems like life is worth at times. Other times, I realize that life is so important, and this is when all of the miracles of my life have occured- around saving my own life and walking away from this, and the strength to have a voice for those who don't and to live for my children and husband who need me. I know that God exists because of times like this- and I know he has his own plans and own timing in things- and I know I wouldn't be alive if it hadn't been for Him so I would be ungrateful to complain about my life now.

Regarding my daughter, I have a hard time talking about how my children fit into this exactly because it takes me to a place that is overwhelming and hard to come back from. I am still "stuffing" that one a bit.

LandAuxVassie- I am sending you a p.m.

 

[lucky2]

Did you know LandAuxvasse that I have a letter from my mother to me outlining for me the events that led up to Roy going into the hospital that Sunday where he simply just "fell down" in the house after a day of golfing?

In the letter, he never "falls down" and she said she actually had to coax him back to the house after being 3 blocks away. She said she had no idea what to do with him, and after a big argument, she called 911, and "the only way she could get them to take him way by saying maybe he'd had a stroke". (I know in Roy's papers they said he kept insisting over and over that he had not had a stroke, but now we know why that was in question.) She said that at the hospital they immediately thought he'd had a bad drug reaction of some type, but after 3 hours of testing, they saw no signs of stroke or blood or alchohol in his system, so they were "baffled" and wondered if it could be "sudden onset dementia".

I haven't heard of sudden onset dementia that can't be pinned down by the best hospitals.. it made me think of my father's "late onset food allergies". Or- Bruce's unusual sudden onset of gastroperesis that just as suddenly cleared up after about 9 months, or my sudden onset of aggressive "multiple sclerosis", or Sammy's sudden onset of "multiple sclerosis", neither one of us with plaques of any kind in our brains, or bands in our spinal cords... or my Uncle's sudden onset of "multiple sclerosis" - or my grandmother's sudden onset of vomiting to the point that she was throwing up her own feces- that one hurt to write.. ok done....

just wanted you to know I had that letter, and let me know if you find other things in the house. I am so interested in documents because I remember or have proof of what she said happened on this side, but I would love to hear in Roy's own voice what was happening through divorce papers, etc.

I also have a letter where she wrote to Roy's attorney, and was trying to convince Roy to drop the pre-nup right when he wanted a divorce... interesting.

 

[lucky2]

one of these days I'll write what happened to my grandma.. she was probably my favorite person in the world other than my husband and kids of course... You should never come out and say you have a favorite, but I did, and my grandpa spriggs was a close second growing up, but my grandma howard was always there, always my inspiration, always the person I wanted to be like someday. I have heavy suspicions that there was foul play at the end of her life. I have her medical records to prove it.. but I'll post about her here one day as well.

 

[cforgy]

just wanted you to know I had that letter, and let me know if you find other things in the house. I am so interested in documents because I remember or have proof of what she said happened on this side, but I would love to hear in Roy's own voice what was happening through divorce papers, etc.

I also have a letter where she wrote to Roy's attorney, and was trying to convince Roy to drop the pre-nup right when he wanted a divorce... interesting.

I'd sure like to see that letter. The story my grandmother was told, and passed on to me, was that he'd gone golfing, came home to take a nap, woke up and was dragging one foot, along with slurred speech. That doesn't quite match the letter you have but the foot-dragging portion sure raises my eyebrow considering how it seems to be a recurring theme. BTW, I've emailed you a scan of a property release you should find interesting. We are a little frazzled dealing with the estate, our business, trying to get the house fixed up and all that jazz, but we're slowly getting Dad's ducks in a sequential fashion and sorting out "stuff" for you. We're getting there ...

 

[SuziQ]

Just checking in. Keep strong Lucky and everyone else connected to this case.

 

[lucky2]

I'd sure like to see that letter. The story my grandmother was told, and passed on to me, was that he'd gone golfing, came home to take a nap, woke up and was dragging one foot, along with slurred speech. That doesn't quite match the letter you have but the foot-dragging portion sure raises my eyebrow considering how it seems to be a recurring theme. BTW, I've emailed you a scan of a property release you should find interesting. We are a little frazzled dealing with the estate, our business, trying to get the house fixed up and all that jazz, but we're slowly getting Dad's ducks in a sequential fashion and sorting out "stuff" for you. We're getting there ...

http://www.docstoc.com/docs/44694120/roy-sick

The top half of the letter that my mother sent me.. not sending the rest. She was trying to convince me to commit my husband at the time which was completely rediculous, and I have don't want his personal stuff out here, but trust me, forgetting to pay a bill does not constitute being institutionalized.

http://www.docstoc.com/docs/44694087/confiscated

this links you to the list that was confiscated when roy called the police on my mother... the guns were my dad's I thought, but maybe 3 of them could have been roy's? Take a look and see if they are in here instead of lost or stolen. (let's hope not stolen)

missing from the released list you sent me were the chocolate chip cookies that he sent in to the police claiming he was poisoned, and that she walked in and convinced them to give back to her for whatever reason. I wish we had those cookies!

 

[lucky2]

Here we go again, father's day just past, July 4th is both my parent's birthdays, July 15th was the day my father died, the month that Roy started going "crazy" and the month that Bruce started throwing up. My mother thinks July is cursed... I hope we make it through this July. I never realize that we are close to it until I start having a harder time sleeping and have this underlying anxiety come up.

 

[cforgy]

Tomorrow, June 28th, would have been Roy's 71st birthday.

 

[lucky2]

Today.. my mom turns 63, my dad would've been 65, and in two days my uncle would've been 58. This is the first 4th of July for 17 years that I feel at peace... like a burden is lifted and I can move on. I hope my dad is at peace whever he is... and knows I love him. My Uncle too. I miss them both.

 

[Mitsy]

I haven't been on this board in a while, and I have not been able to catch up with all the most recent postings.

I knew who the Spriggs family was and Dennis was my Sunday school teacher in the local LDS church when I was attending in my early 20's. It didn't take me too many months to figure out that the Mormon faith was not for me, but I always thought a lot of Dennis and had assumed that he had one of those picture perfect families.

I remember being quite shocked when I saw his obituary in the paper in '92. I didn't attend any services for him as his family would not have known me or remembered me from my time at their church. I knew he had 3 girls and a boy but had lost track of how old his kids would be. I knew, at some point, that Jeanne had worked for the radio station & I knew that Dennis sold insurance. After he passed on, I wasn't sure where the rest of the family wound up but did occasionally run into someone who knew that Jeanne had moved out of the area & remarried. That was basically all I knew up until hearing about this possible serial killing.

I am friends with someone related to the family but haven't spoken to her in a while about this case. I can't imagine the grief that has been caused by all this. My heart aches for Lucky and her siblings. I hope that the truth will be known soon regardless of the outcome. Not knowing has to be the hardest part.

 

[lucky2]

Thanks Misty. You are right, not knowing has been the hardest part, but I am settling into the best kind of peace possible in case we never know. My brother seems to follow the philosophy that we may never know, and my aunt as well. The only three people in the world that seem to have the luxury of full knowledge on this are my two sisters and my mother. Wouldn't it be great to feel so sure? I know that my sisters have had a lot of pain through this also though, both have written to me saying they wish they had their old sister back. (Before I went crazy and evil) . I love all of them, think they are all good people, and hope the best in their lives always.

 

[Melis]

Hi everyone.....it has been forever since I have been on here. Thankyou Misty for letting me know people where updating on here! I am going to try to read back through past pages and get updated.
Lucky2....we have lost touch...hope you havent forgotten me! We had a great visit quite awhile back and have been meaning to call you but lsot your number. My grandmother was sisters to your grandma.Hopefully we can catch up on lost time. Hope you and your family are doing well!

 

[lucky2]

Melis- How could I ever forget you??? You are the one that told me about this thread a few years ago, remember? I watched it for about a year before I decided to say anything . I'll p.m. you and we'll talk soon. Thx for telling me about this, it has really helped me sort things out. I hope your family is great too!

 

[cofinley]

Hi, Lucky2:

I haven't checked on here for a while. Private life has been crazy. One of my best Ottumwa friends moved to AZ about the time we left there and moved to MO. She flew back in summer of 1997 to see me after my heart surgery and we haven't been able to hook up in person since. She was back there visiting for two weeks, so had Ottumwa visiting to do. She will be back there again in September and am hoping to go down for another visit then.

Our youngest daughter has been very ill and in and out of hospitals a couple times each week for the last 6 weeks. That has kept us busy. She and Hubby have 2 foster daughters, one large dog, and a very big yard so we were needed quite a bit.

I leave in a couple days for Vegas and will be gone a week. I will get back to business when I return and get your questions from June 10th answered. (Better late than never, huh?)

Is the wrongful death hearing still going on or has there been a decision? I'm curious to see how that plays out.

I will email you as soon as I get back. It will be sometime the week of July 26th. Hope you are still hanging in there. I can't imagine how hard this would be for a person to have to endure.
I think of you often and keep you in prayers........Co

 

[lucky2]

Tomorrow is the 18th anniversary of my dad's death. The investigation into his death started about 4 and a half years ago. I am considering putting everything I have, tapes, emails, medical records for various people, etc. Tomorrow and letting anyone who has thoughts about this case study everything and see what opinions or ideas come out. I think that the FBI has had enough time to ponder things
Without apparent results. Any thoughts on that idea? Do you think it would do any good?

 

[cforgy]

letting anyone who has thoughts about this case study everything and see what opinions or ideas come out. I think that the FBI has had enough time to ponder things
Without apparent results. Any thoughts on that idea? Do you think it would do any good?

Can't hurt. They're notoriously slow. They just charged some cops in New Orleans after a 5 year investigation, and they had been cleared by their police dept of any wrongdoing.

 

[Belinda]

I think it is a good idea to try and force their hand at this point. It's a pretty sad state of affairs when the FBI can't even get their act together.

 

[lucky2]

Can't hurt. They're notoriously slow. They just charged some cops in New Orleans after a 5 year investigation, and they had been cleared by their police dept of any wrongdoing.

I have to say that I feel a lot more vulnerable in life through this experience, knowing that my own loved ones can hurt me, and that those sworn to protect seem to enjoy obnoxiously pushing their rank around and smacking their gum loudly while wearing dark sunglasses, more than the job they were actually hired to do with our tax money. (slight exaggeration- but enough said on that one...) Maybe behind those glasses hides a genius at work? And the silence is for our best interest and total protection rather than just to hide the fact that he has no idea what is going on in the case.

I decided to do some fun things with my kids today instead of upload things here. I thought about how my dad might want me to remember this day, and I know he would've wanted me to be a good mother to honor him the best way I could- so I just did that today.

I think I will upload a few more things tomorrow or over the weekend- I doubt it could hurt anything at this point.

One thing I was wondering, is why Jeanne would make up different stories that happened on the morning that he died... vastly different stories. What would be the point of that when there are people that were there that could verify or deny those stories? It's kind of like making up different stories of how Roy ended up in the ER that first time- why???

 

[Belinda]

I would say she would make up stories to fit whatever she wanted the person she was talking to to believe. Depending on what she wanted to get out of that person.