David Sparks pled guilty to the murder (Image: Lincoln County Pretrial)
Five years ago, the parents of David Sparks reported a foul smell coming from their property to police – and what was found was horrifying. Their report led to the discovery of the decomposing body of Savannah Spurlock which was found on the farm belonging to David Sparks’ parents.
Savannah had gone missing six months beforehand. The last person to see her alive was Sparks, who also lived next door to his parents. After his arrest for Savannah’s murder in July 2019, cops found an incriminating journal at his home, where he chillingly wrote: “How do you look your mother in the eyes and tell her you’re a born psychopath?
Savannah Spurlock was 22-years-old (Image: Richmond Police Department)
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“That she gave birth to a monster, someone who wouldn’t care a bit to squeeze the last breath out of another human or plunge a knife into their chest and smile about it.”
The tragic case was recently explored by British YouTuber Adrian for his Coffeehouse Crime channel.
After uploading his video, many of the comments led with the same sentiment – overwhelming appreciation to the parents for calling the police.
Savannah Spurlock was a 22-year-old mother-of-four who had given birth to twins just one month before she was reported missing in January 2019.
She worked in the restaurant industry and on January 4, she went into Lexington to celebrate her friend’s birthday — her first night out since giving birth.
However, her last sighting came from police releasing CCTV footage, which showed her leaving the bar with three men, one of them being a then-23-year-old David Sparks.
She was seen getting into his truck at around 2.30am before she called her mother at 3am to say she would be home later that morning.
Her mum reported her missing the following evening when she failed to return and it led to a huge search and appeal for information.
Police interviewed the men who were with Savannah and discovered that she had been driven to a rural house in Garrard County.
One of the men claimed they eventually left Sparks and Savannah at his home — and during a police interview he was asked if his friend was “weird”.
He replied: “Oh f*** yeah. He’s a weirdo. Everybody knows that. I mean, he’s got an unorthodox like thinking. I mean certain things he do, is just like, different to others.”
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CCTV footage was released (Image: Richmond Police Department)
Sparks meanwhile was interviewed, but he said he remembered Savannah asking him for directions, and that she was gone by the time he had woken up.
Police searched his home, and the adjacent Spark’s family farm, but nothing was found.
Asked whether he knew where Savannah was, Sparks told police: “I do not. I got up and she wasn’t there. Door was unlocked and she wasn’t… she was gone.”
The officer then asked: “Has it crossed your mind that she may not be alive?”
Sparks, who had also been in trouble in the past for petty offences, drug possession, traffic violations and a domestic violence charge, replied: “That has crossed my mind — but I hope she’s alright.”
Six months after vanishing, Spark’s parents suddenly smelled decay coming from their farm, and given the mystery surrounding Savannah, and the suspicions surrounding their son, they likely knew it could only have meant one thing.
It wasn’t long before the shallow grave in their backyard, containing the remains of the young mother, were discovered.
Her naked body had been buried in a rug that was missing from Spark’s bedroom and her feet were bound with shipping tape.
She was dumped in the grave with multiple rubbish bags and her body was folded in half in an “unnatural position”.
Everything pointed to Sparks being the killer and he admitted to murdering Savannah before burying her on his parent’s farm.
He also pled guilty to abuse of a corpse and tampering with physical evidence.
In December 2020, Sparks was given a 50-year sentence for murder along with five years for abuse of a corpse.
The killer will be eligible for parole 15 years from now and speaking after the sentencing, Savannah’s aunt, Lisa Thomas, said: “He may take it to think he is out in 20 years.
“No sir, our fight has just begun. Because Mr. Sparks, her sons will be grown men, fighting for a mother he stole from them.”
She added: “I don’t know what made him plead guilty. I do not imagine it is remorse because behind those eyes today I did not see that.”
An autopsy of Savannah’s remains, which were in an advanced state of decomposition, came back inconclusive. Savannah’s family were never given answers on how she died.