Georgia Man Charged in 1985 Church Murders After DNA Clears Original Suspect

Erik Kristensen Sparre, 61, was arrested nearly 40 years after Harold and Thelma Swain were fatally shot at a Georgia church, following the exoneration of Dennis Perry through DNA evidence.

Erik Kristensen Sparre has been arrested and charged with two counts of murder and aggravated assault for the 1985 killings of Harold and Thelma Swain at Rising Daughter Baptist Church in Georgia.
Dennis Perry, the original suspect, was wrongfully convicted in 2003 and spent 20 years in prison before being exonerated in 2021 through DNA evidence and investigative inconsistencies.
DNA from glasses left at the crime scene matched Sparre, who had been an early suspect but was initially cleared by police in the original investigation.
Sparre’s alibi from 1985 was later discredited, and his ex-wife reported that he confessed to the murders in a recorded phone message.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation has stated the case remains active and ongoing despite Sparre’s arrest.