Census Worker May Have Hanged Himself

Investigators probing the death of a census worker found hanging from a tree with the word "fed" scrawled on his chest increasingly doubt he was killed because of his job and are pursuing the possibility of suicide. The suicide theory is gaining steam because there were no defensive wounds on Sparkman's body, law enforcement sources tell the AP, and, though his hands were bound with duct-tape, they may have been mobile enough to manipulate the rope.

Sparkman's naked body was found Sept. 12 hanging from a tree, but in contact with the ground, in a remote patch of the Daniel Boone National Forest in the state of Kentucky. Authorities say Sparkman died of asphyxiation where his body was found. The FBI won't discuss the case, and Kentucky police say that the investigation is ongoing, with homicide, suicide and accident all still on the table. (More Bill Sparkman stories.)