BRANTLEY COUNTY, Ga. — Agents with the Georgia Bureau of Investigations spent Thursday searching for possible clues in the death of a Southeast Georgia couple.
They say they executed a search warrant at the home of Gladys Sparre and her son, Erik Sparre, in Brantley County.
Gladys Sparre, whose DNA was crucial to overturning a case, was found dead at her home two weeks ago. Hours earlier, her DNA freed Dennis Perry, who was originally convicted of murdering Harold and Thelma Swain in 1985. He was given two life sentences for their deaths in 2003.
But DNA taken from Gladys Sparre set Perry free and, instead, appears to link her son to the crime scene the day the Swains were murdered.
“Obviously the GBI is trying to develop any evidence to connect Mr. Sparre to the murders. With the new DNA evidence, he certainly can’t be excluded,” attorney Page Pate, board member of the Georgia Innocence Project said.
He believes the search warrant means the GBI is narrowing their focus.
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“He is obviously the GBI’s primary suspect at this point and they’re expediting the investigation,” Pate said.
Investigators spent nearly six hours at Sparre’s property. Agents took dozens of items from the Sparre residence including what appeared to be small cannons and a Confederate flag jacket.
In a statement, the GBI says they are still determining how Erik Sparre was involved in the Swain’s deaths.
Meanwhile, Perry is free and awaits a new trial.
But, Pate says, based on the evidence, there’s no need to retry Perry.
“If they decided to try him again, it would be a losing effort. There’s no reason to put the families and the community through that,” Pate said.
A cause of death for Gladys Sparre is unknown and Erik Sparre’s whereabouts are unknown at this time. The GBI says their investigation is ongoing.