New suspect arrested by Georgia authorities in decades-old murder case of couple at Georgia Baptist church
Dennis Perry, who served 21 years of a life sentence for the murders, was found to be wrongly convicted in 2021.
A new suspect has been charged decades after a black deacon and his wife – Harold and Thelma Swain – were shot and killed during a Bible study at Rising Daughter Baptist Church in Woodbine, Ga., in 1985.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) announced the arrest of Erik Kristensen Sparre, 61, of Waynesville, on Dec. 9. Sparre is charged with two counts of murder and two counts of aggravated assault.
In 2020, the GBI and the Camden County Sheriff’s Office reopened the investigation into the murders of Swains after “possible new evidence” came to light. The case was closed after Dennis Perry was convicted of the murders in 2003.
A judge granted a motion to dismiss charges against Perry in 2021. It was revealed that Perry was convicted almost entirely due to information generated by a single informant who was seeking a $25,000 reward and was at work hundreds of miles from the location during the time the murders were committed.
Detailed information about the case is posted on the Georgia Innocence Project.
Related link:
Harold and Thelma Swain Murder Investigation (Georgia Bureau of Investigation)