In 1915 you had the murder of 16 year old Stella Kinney. In 1932, you had the murder of ten year old Roy Rickey. And 1936 would add another innocent child to the list.
Everett Sparks was married to Pearlie Dean Sparks. They had at least three children that we were able to find: William Toy Sparks, Mildred J. Sparks, and Erie Marie Sparks. Mildred was crippled, unable to walk or talk.
Pearlie passed away in 1935 from Tuberculosis, shortly after giving birth to Marie. After Pearlie's death, Everett was married again. This time to Nella (Nellie) Brown of Elliottville in Rowan County,KY.
Initially Everett claimed that Nellie had threatened to leave him if Mildred, being deaf and mute, remained in the home. Everett was quoted as saying that his wife said the child was 'too much trouble" , and if he didn't get rid of the girl by Sunday (October 25, 1936), she would leave him.
Given the alleged ultimatum, Everett chose to kill the child. So on Thursday, October 22, 1936, Everett borrows 25 cents, goes to the Rose & Sparks Drug Company in Olive Hill and buys some arsenic under an assumed name of Sam Jones. Everett takes the arsenic home, puts it in sweet milk and gave it to Mildred.
Neighbors stated that the child died in extreme pain, frothing at the mouth and that no effort was made to call a doctor. And they were told by the Sparks' to "get out" that they were not needed.
Mildred passed away the next day (Friday) and was buried Saturday without a death certificate being issued. The neighbors then went to the authorities and made a report. This prompted the county attorney and the county coroner to visit the Sparks home to investigate on Tuesday.
An investigation proved that a large quantity of poison had been sold at the local drug store the week prior to a resident of Enterprise (a community a few miles outside of Olive Hill) and that Sparks had been in town that day.
Two days later, on Thursday, Sparks went to the coroner's office and confessed to the crime. Both Everett and his wife Nellie were arrested and charged with the murder of Mildred.
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| Everett's Confession, clipped from the Olive Hill Carter County Herald, October 29, 1936. |
Believing that Everett and Nellie might alter their plea, County Attorney J.R. McGill and Coroner C.W. Henderson had the child exhumed. They wanted to back up the written confession that Everett had made that he fed the arsenic to Mildred. So a post-mortem examination was conducted on November 16, 1936.
The post-mortem examination found quantities of arsenic in the girls stomach and liver and that the walls of the stomach were reddened and congested.
On November 25, 1936, both Everett and Nellie were indicted on the charge of murder. Nellie's bond was set at $10,000.00 and Everett was held without bond. Their trial was initially set for the following week. However, their attorneys, R.H. Wilhoit and Thomas Theobold, Jr, withdrew from the case, causing the trial to be moved to December 17, 1936.
No cause was found, but for whatever reason, the trial was moved to February 1937.
Nellie was tried on February 20, 1937.
The eight year old son of Everett was a witness for the prosecution. He told how Nellie told Everett that he had not given the child a sufficient amount to kill her, and to let her give a dose that would get her out of the way. The son stated that then Nellie prepared a cup of milk into which she poured the medicine and mixed it and the child drank it.
Throughout the process, Nellie continued to deny that she had anything to do with the murder of Mildred. She did admit to threatening to leave Sparks but insisted that she had nothing to do with the murder. She said that she would have treated the girl as she would have her own child.
That trial ended in deadlock forcing a retrial the following week.
The jury in the retrial must have believed her story over the son, or perhaps their wasn't enough evidence linking her to the crime; because on February 26, 1937, Nellie was acquitted by a Lawrence County jury of twelve men.
Everett on the other hand plead guilty and received a life sentence for the murder.
Nellie passed away in 1992 and is buried in Greenville, Tennessee. Everett passed away in 1957 and is buried alongside his first wife Pearlie in Globe, KY. Ironically Mildred is the only child buried with her parents. The child Everett didn't want in death is the only one buried close to him.
Nellie was tried on February 20, 1937.
The eight year old son of Everett was a witness for the prosecution. He told how Nellie told Everett that he had not given the child a sufficient amount to kill her, and to let her give a dose that would get her out of the way. The son stated that then Nellie prepared a cup of milk into which she poured the medicine and mixed it and the child drank it.
Throughout the process, Nellie continued to deny that she had anything to do with the murder of Mildred. She did admit to threatening to leave Sparks but insisted that she had nothing to do with the murder. She said that she would have treated the girl as she would have her own child.
That trial ended in deadlock forcing a retrial the following week.
The jury in the retrial must have believed her story over the son, or perhaps their wasn't enough evidence linking her to the crime; because on February 26, 1937, Nellie was acquitted by a Lawrence County jury of twelve men.
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| Clipped from the Olive Hill Carter County Herald Olive Hill, KY, March 4, 1937 |
Everett on the other hand plead guilty and received a life sentence for the murder.
Nellie passed away in 1992 and is buried in Greenville, Tennessee. Everett passed away in 1957 and is buried alongside his first wife Pearlie in Globe, KY. Ironically Mildred is the only child buried with her parents. The child Everett didn't want in death is the only one buried close to him.
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