CAMDEN COUNTY, Ga. — The Georgia Bureau of Investigation said they’ve made an arrest in the case of a couple killed inside of a Camden County church 39 years ago.
Deacon Harold Swain and his wife, Thelma, were shot and killed in 1985 inside the Rising Daughter Baptist Church in Camden County.
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Erik Sparre, 61, of Waynesville, Georgia has been charged with two counts of murder and two counts of aggravated assault in the deaths of the couple, the GBI announced Monday.
Sparre was arrested in Waynesville without incident and booked into the Camden County Jail, a GBI news release states.
The GBI searched Sparre’s home in August 2020.
“The search was conducted as part of the ongoing investigation,” a GBI news release said at that time. “Agents continue to work to determine what involvement Erik Sparre had in the Swain’s deaths.”
Another man, Dennis Perry, was arrested and convicted in the couple’s murder in 2003. He was released from prison 20 years later and exonerated when new DNA evidence was linked to Sparre, who was previously named a suspect before Perry’s arrest.
This is a developing story. We’ll bring you the latest from Channel 2′s sister station Action News Jax throughout the day.
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