Wasn't this case solved? What was the whole motive anyways?

To my knowledge, this was apparently solved, but it's questionable whether the right man is in prison for it. I had heard (here on the board) that the key peice of evidence (the killers eyeglasses) were lost by the UM cast when they borrowed them to show on the show. Apparently, they could possibly prove the man's innocence, but nothing has happened yet as they can't find them. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

To my knowledge, this was apparently solved, but it's questionable whether the right man is in prison for it. I had heard (here on the board) that the key peice of evidence (the killers eyeglasses) were lost by the UM cast when they borrowed them to show on the show. Apparently, they could possibly prove the man's innocence, but nothing has happened yet as they can't find them. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

Yes, thats true. Dennis Perry was convicted of the crime but I have my doubts whether he was responsible. I don't think he looked anything like the composite sketch among other things. There was someone else out there who has previously robbed a church (I'm not sure of his name) and I think there's a chance they were the ones responsible.

Well, Dennis Perry was convicted but to be honest I have long had serious doubts as to his guilt and I personally do not believe that he committed these murders. This opinion will not surprise most on here as I am well known pro defense. However even most pro prosecution people disagreed with the verdict in Perry's trial.

It seems to me that the jury convicted Dennis Perry off of literally no real evidence. They ignored his alibi which was on the night of the murders, Dennis Perry was working on a construction job in Atlanta, a 5 and a half to 6 hour drive north of where the murders happened.

Perry was at work until after 5 o'clock that night. Meaning if he wanted to drive back down to Camden County which is on the opposite end of the state on the border with Florida he would have had to flown down there. There was just no way he could get back to Camden County in time considering the time the murders occured and considering Perry didnt get off work in Atlanta until after 5 o'clock in the evening.

The original GBI agent who was interviewed in the UM segment who was investigating the case and had in fact interviewed Dennis Perry early on in this investigation and eliminated him as a suspect for various reasons testified on Perry's behalf at his trial. That GBI agent to this day believes Perry is innocent and was wrongfully convicted.

There was a man who had previously robbed a church in Kansas. This man was later identified although I dont think he ever did time in Kansas due to the statute of limitations having expired. However this man was originally from Camden County, Georgia. I believe this man did do at least one prison stretch for Armed Robbery in either Georgia or Florida.

However it seems that at the trial the jury just couldnt get past the eyewitness saying it was Perry that robbed the church. Yet back in the 80's, Perry who I believe had a mugshot back then was not identified. The problem with when she picked Perry this time was the GBI agent who is on the case now said to her when he showed her Perry's mugshot "this is the guy....right?" When he did that he sealed Perry's fate because she got it in her head that it was perry.

I am confused. Did Perry not confess to the murder? In the segment I have in tape, it is stated that he did confess....

I am confused. Did Perry not confess to the murder? In the segment I have in tape, it is stated that he did confess....

Hmm I've never heard that he confessed. I believe he wasn't arrested for the murder until many years later. Maybe someone else here knows more about it.

Perry didnt confess. There was nothing for him to confess to. Perry did take a plea bargain of sorts. After he was found guilty at trial, to spare his life he agreed to waive his appeals in exchange for being spared the death penalty and be given two life sentences with parole eligibility after 14 years. With credit for the time he had already served in jail, perry will be eligible for parole in the year 2014. Perry regrets taking double life and waiving the appals I am sure because it made him look guilty. However he has since filed appeals anyway. It was bad legal advice he received at the time tp waive his appeals in exchange for double life and Perry took it mainly to spare his life.

The cop who said he was convinced it was a robbery, how did he get his job? The man cut the phone lines and left the money. Witnesses said he was very calm and calculated and he specifically picked out the victim. If he had been trying to steal he would have attacked the first lady he saw. Possibly for racist reasons he knew the town, he knew it was mostly black and he chose the victim probably because he was leading member of the church and spoke freely for black rights. No wonder this took 15 years to solve the police in charge have no clue!

This murder was anything but a robbery. Something else was going on there.

Wait, so the man who was convicted of this may end up being innocent? And how would the glasses prove his innocence?

Wait, so the man who was convicted of this may end up being innocent? And how would the glasses prove his innocence?

The eyeglasses were reportedly left at the scene and Perry had impeccable vision and didn't need glasses. He didn't resemble the composite sketch either imo. Here are a few articles about the case:

http://www.brightverge.com/the-murders-of-harold-swain-and-thelma-swain-in-1985/

http://www.denverpost.com/evidence/ci_6453430

The eyeglasses were reportedly left at the scene and Perry had impeccable vision and didn't need glasses. He didn't resemble the composite sketch either imo. Here are a few articles about the case:

http://www.brightverge.com/the-murders-of-harold-swain-and-thelma-swain-in-1985/

http://www.denverpost.com/evidence/ci_6453430

Thanks!

I just wonder if anyone can prove whether or not the glasses belonged to whoever killed Harold and Thelma Swain. They could have been left there accidentally by anyone.

Man, reading those links, it sounds like the only reason Perry was convicted was because the mother of his ex-girlfriend had a MAJOR vendetta against him. The only thing that connected Perry to the crime was this woman's insistence he told her daughter that he MIGHT be planning to visit his grandparents' house, which happened to be in the same neighbourhood as the church. But, of course, the fact that Perry was established as being at work six hours away at that time should have been proved she was mistaken yet somehow this woman's testimony was considered unreliable. Even if she was correct, that's hardly evidence which places Perry at the scene of the murders. What a sham this investigation was!

Man, reading those links, it sounds like the only reason Perry was convicted was because the mother of his ex-girlfriend had a MAJOR vendetta against him. The only thing that connected Perry to the crime was this woman's insistence he told her daughter that he MIGHT be planning to visit his grandparents' house, which happened to be in the same neighbourhood as the church. But, of course, the fact that Perry was established as being at work six hours away at that time should have been proved she was mistaken yet somehow this woman's testimony was considered unreliable. Even if she was correct, that's hardly evidence which places Perry at the scene of the murders. What a sham this investigation was!

If that's really all there is that convicted him then everyone associated with the prosecution should be held accountable. There has to be something else that places him at the scene. Why in the world would twelve jurors vote to convict someone who had an airtight alibi six hours away?

If that's really all there is that convicted him then everyone associated with the prosecution should be held accountable. There has to be something else that places him at the scene. Why in the world would twelve jurors vote to convict someone who had an airtight alibi six hours away?

According to the article, the prosecution also claimed that Perry confessed to the murders, but Perry denies this and claims the investigator was just twisting his words around. Of course, there wasn't any taped footage of this so-called "confession".

But, sadly, as we've seen with so many other wrongful conviction cases, sometimes a confession is enough to sway a jury even if said confession is unreliable and all the other evidence points to the defendant's innocence.

If that's really all there is that convicted him then everyone associated with the prosecution should be held accountable. There has to be something else that places him at the scene. Why in the world would twelve jurors vote to convict someone who had an airtight alibi six hours away?

According to the article, the prosecution also claimed that Perry confessed to the murders, but Perry denies this and claims the investigator was just twisting his words around. Of course, there wasn't any taped footage of this so-called "confession".

But, sadly, as we've seen with so many other wrongful conviction cases, sometimes a confession is enough to sway a jury even if said confession is unreliable and all the other evidence points to the defendant's innocence.

I realize there is a lot of doubt about Dennis Perry being the guilty party, but what did the police and DA ascertain or allege the motive was?

I realize there is a lot of doubt about Dennis Perry being the guilty party, but what did the police and DA ascertain or allege the motive was?

The only explanation I could find was in this article...
http://jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/021503/met_11758797.shtml#.VUy9wfm-18E

Johnson said an earlier witness testified Perry threatened to kill Harold Swain two weeks before the shootings for ridiculing him after Perry asked to borrow money. Johnson said Perry didn't name Harold Swain when he said he was going to kill the man, but he didn't have to.

"We know ... Dennis Perry was talking about Mr. Swain," Johnson said.

Yeah, that comment from the prosecutor is pretty damn sketchy. As far as I can tell, the closest connection between Perry and the Swains were that Perry's grandparents lived in the Swains' neighbourhood, but it sounds like Perry was living in Atlanta at the time of the murders. The motive makes no sense since IIRC, Harold had money on him which was not taken when he was killed and as a highly respected deacon, Harold didn't seem like the type of guy who would "ridicule" someone who asked to borrow money.

I was just watching this segment and was very confused by the update (somebody confessing to the murder several years later and was said to have a grudge against Harold) as the whole entire segment set it up to be a transient or a person's whose police sketch looked pretty much identical to the sketch in this case and who robbed a church in Kansas. Also, was Perry from Waverly? I'd be surprised if the witnesses didn't recognize him (at least the one woman who interacted with him before leaving) if he was since it is such a small community.

I recently re-watched this segment on Amazon Prime and was surprised to see the entire section about Donnie Barrentine, the suspect who allegedly confessed to the murders. As far as I can tell, this part was always edited out of the Lifetime airings, probably because Dennis Perry was convicted of the crime. But I don't know, I still think Perry's conviction was very questionable and that Barrentine sounds like a far more likely suspect.

The only caveat is that DNA from hairs taken from the glasses found at the scene (which subsequently went missing) did not match Barrentine, but they didn't match Perry either.

I was in touch with Dennis Perry for a number of years. Perry is still serving two life sentences. I have always tended to believe he was/is innocent in the matter. I am not saying he is a boy scout by any means but murder? There was just nothing to tie him to that and it is was, the Sheriff there in Camden County, had long disliked Dennis and his family. Dennis had an alibi on the day in question as well and no evidence placed him in or around that area. In fact that day he was working on a construction job in the Atlanta area over 3 hours away. The glasses were a major piece in convincing me of Dennis's innocence, that and various other things I looked at were enough to convince me.

I was in touch with Dennis Perry for a number of years. Perry is still serving two life sentences. I have always tended to believe he was/is innocent in the matter. I am not saying he is a boy scout by any means but murder? There was just nothing to tie him to that and it is was, the Sheriff there in Camden County, had long disliked Dennis and his family. Dennis had an alibi on the day in question as well and no evidence placed him in or around that area. In fact that day he was working on a construction job in the Atlanta area over 3 hours away. The glasses were a major piece in convincing me of Dennis's innocence, that and various other things I looked at were enough to convince me.

Ah, interesting, good to know he's not forgotten. Reading the articles about him, it sounds like Perry was seriously let down by his legal counsel. They chose not to bring up the fact that the DNA from the hairs in the eyeglasses didn't match him because their whole strategy involved deflecting the blame to Donnie Barrentine and they didn't want to mention that the DNA didn't match him either. And it's pretty unfortunate that Perry was convinced to waive his right to appeals in exchange for not receiving the death penalty. There were so many questionable things about the conviction that I think he would have had a decent change of getting it overturned if he had the option to appeal.

I recently re-watched this segment on Amazon Prime and was surprised to see the entire section about Donnie Barrentine, the suspect who allegedly confessed to the murders. As far as I can tell, this part was always edited out of the Lifetime airings, probably because Dennis Perry was convicted of the crime. But I don't know, I still think Perry's conviction was very questionable and that Barrentine sounds like a far more likely suspect.

The only caveat is that DNA from hairs taken from the glasses found at the scene (which subsequently went missing) did not match Barrentine, but they didn't match Perry either.

I never knew about this part of the segment until about 3 years ago, when I saw the NBC version for the first time. It put the eyewitness's statement about noticing the perpetrator's "scuffed boots" in perspective.

I never knew about this part of the segment until about 3 years ago, when I saw the NBC version for the first time. It put the eyewitness's statement about noticing the perpetrator's "scuffed boots" in perspective.

Yep, never saw that part before either.

I am not as caught up as others are on this case, but didn't Dennis Perry (as according to the update on Amazon) confess to the crimes? As far as I know, Perry was the only one with a clear motive to do harm to Harold Swain. Donnie Barrentine simply seemed like a braggart to me. I don't know if there was ever a connection between Barrentine and Harold like there was with Perry.

The connection between Dennis Perry and Harold Swain I can say was not as major as what many seem to think it is. While Dennis Perry is the only one that knows beyond any and all doubt what he did or didn't do that night I can say that the case is much more up in the air than it appears. The GBI Agent, Joe Gregory to this day believes that Dennis Perry is innocent. The day in question Perry was in the process of returning to the area from Atlanta, Georgia where he had been working on a construction job for some time. Perry knew of Harold Swain but had never met him. That is a very rural county and was even more so at that time, so pretty much everyone in that county knew who Harold Swain was.

Perry wasn't even living in Camden County or South Georgia at the time but was living near Atlanta. Perry had grown up there in Camden County. He was cleared early in the investigation and the Sheriff's Office 'lost' much of the physical evidence before Perry's arrest. In my opinion it was just the Sheriff's office batting around and going at the top of the order again. The investigators in this case that arrested Perry in 2000 also did not record the interrogation nor even take written notes. Three investigators yet no notes? IT was good old style dirty police work. Reading the 7 women who saw the killer, they came up between them 4 different hair colors, 3 different hair lengths, 3 different descriptions of his facial hair or no facial hair, 4 descriptions of clothing, about half thought the killer had glasses the others thought he didn't.

The case is very weak against Perry at best and I am shocked he was charged let alone convicted. UM stated that Perry 'pled guilty' but that actually isn't what happened. His lawyers didn't do a very good job, but he went to trial and was convicted by a jury and given two life sentences despite an extremely weak case.

The Sheriff's Office claims he confessed to the crimes but without the interrogation being recorded that claim is suspect at best. Even if one believed the cops statements that Perry 'confessed' it was only after hours of interrogation that he admitted to 'maybe' being at the church that night and that he was drinking heavily and doing drugs at the time and couldn't remember where or he was or if he had traveled the 3 hours down there from the Atlanta metro area that night? I wouldn't normally be so strongly opinionated but this is one I have from the beginning and still do even more strongly now believe in Dennis Perry's innocence.

After reading a bit over the years, I ultimately came to the conclusion that Joe Gregory was probably the more credible and competent investigator in this case.

The longtime Sheriff there in Camden County, Bill Smith who was thankfully defeated for re-election in 2008, but he was crooked as they come. Joe Gregory was in my opinion the only one that properly investigated this case or did anything resembling a proper investigation. The Sheriff's Office also 'lost' the metal box that had unidentified finger prints all over it. The box that would have covered where the phone lines came out from. I was also wrong on the distance. Perry was seen by multiple people including his foreman at his work in Atlanta until at least late afternoon that day, and Atlanta is at least a 4 and a half hour drive away which from what I can tell is the fastest route by vehicle. That would be going straight through, no stops. http://www.denverpost.com/2007/07/24/key-evidence-goes-missing-in-georgia-church-murders/

The case is very weak against Perry at best and I am shocked he was charged let alone convicted. UM stated that Perry 'pled guilty' but that actually isn't what happened. His lawyers didn't do a very good job, but he went to trial and was convicted by a jury and given two life sentences despite an extremely weak case.

I'm still curious as to what evidence, outside of the drunken confession, they had that tied Donnie Barrintine to the murders as opposed to Perry.

UM's update on this was not accurate. Dennis Arnold Perry did receive two life sentences, but not for the murders of Harold and Thelma. He stated that he knew them both and said that he had a grudge against Harold, however, it turns out he was lying about that. Ultimately, there was never anything conclusive that connected him to the murders.

I was reading up on an appeal filed by Dennis Perry's defense team and it had some of the notes of the investigation which led to his arrest. Basically what it boiled down to was 2 of the women from the church that night were shown a picture of Perry, and they were adamant that he was the man seen in the church arguing with Harold Swain. Granted, these identifications were done over 10 years after the murders, but that was because the initial investigation believed that Perry had an alibi. Some other interesting tidbits:

- Perry's ex-girlfriend's mother told detectives that weeks before the murders he was at her house and had a pair of women's eyeglasses in his possession. She thought it was odd and brought it up to Perry who told her that they were his mother's and he used them for reading. This could explain why the hair found in the glasses did not match Perry's DNA.

- Perry's ex-girlfriend told detectives that shortly before the murders, he had broken into her home with a friend of his and she woke up to find them passed out on the floor. She broke up with him because she suspected that he was using drugs. She also told detectives that Perry told her on either the Sunday before or the day of the murders, he had ridden a motorcycle from Jonesboro, GA and broken into his grandfather's house (located right down the road from the church) for a place to sleep for the night.

- Detectives went to interview Perry at his house but his wife was home, and when they identified themselves as homicide detectives, his wife immediately asked them if they were there "about the murder in Camden County". She also told them that Perry had told her that at one point, he was a suspect in the Swain murders.

- After he was arrested, Perry told the detectives that the weekend prior to the murders, he had driven a motorcycle from Atlanta to Camden County. When pressed, he said he could have been in the church during the night of the murders, but he "may have been doped up and drunk and may have done something he did not remember." When they hypothetically asked him why someone would have killed the Swains, he said, "I think someone ran out of gas and someone needed money." About an hour into the questioning, Perry accused the detectives of putting words in his mouth, and refused to answer any other questions, so the interrogation was ended.

- Donnie Barrentine did not show up for work the day after the murders and could not give a reason as to why. However, he also did not show up for work the day prior to the murders either.

- Donnie Barrentine did not know the Swains. Dennis Perry claimed that he "knew of" Harold Swain, but multiple other people said that Perry knew Swain and that his grandfather lived approximately 1 minute away from the church. This is important because on the night of the murders, one of the women present in the church said that she heard the man tell Harold Swain that he wanted to talk to him outside, and that Harold tersely replied that he could talk to him in there. The implication was that Harold knew the man, and that it was a confrontational meeting. Perry's ex-girlfriend's mother told detectives that shortly before the murders, Perry told her that he had asked to borrow money from "the n-word that lived down the road from my grandfather", but the man laughed in his face and Perry said, "I'm going to kill that n-word".

- Perry's ex-girlfriend also told detectives that the man she found sleeping on the floor of her house with Perry that one morning, had a stepfather who wore a distinctive pair of safety glasses that looked near identical to the ones found at the murder scene. I suppose the theory was that it was possible that Perry stole these glasses and was wearing them the night of the murders, which could have been another reason as to why the hair found on the glasses did not match Perry.

I was reading up on an appeal filed by Dennis Perry's defense team and it had some of the notes of the investigation which led to his arrest. Basically what it boiled down to was 2 of the women from the church that night were shown a picture of Perry, and they were adamant that he was the man seen in the church arguing with Harold Swain. Granted, these identifications were done over 10 years after the murders, but that was because the initial investigation believed that Perry had an alibi. Some other interesting tidbits:

- Perry's ex-girlfriend's mother told detectives that weeks before the murders he was at her house and had a pair of women's eyeglasses in his possession. She thought it was odd and brought it up to Perry who told her that they were his mother's and he used them for reading. This could explain why the hair found in the glasses did not match Perry's DNA.

- Perry's ex-girlfriend told detectives that shortly before the murders, he had broken into her home with a friend of his and she woke up to find them passed out on the floor. She broke up with him because she suspected that he was using drugs. She also told detectives that Perry told her on either the Sunday before or the day of the murders, he had ridden a motorcycle from Jonesboro, GA and broken into his grandfather's house (located right down the road from the church) for a place to sleep for the night.

- Detectives went to interview Perry at his house but his wife was home, and when they identified themselves as homicide detectives, his wife immediately asked them if they were there "about the murder in Camden County". She also told them that Perry had told her that at one point, he was a suspect in the Swain murders.

- After he was arrested, Perry told the detectives that the weekend prior to the murders, he had driven a motorcycle from Atlanta to Camden County. When pressed, he said he could have been in the church during the night of the murders, but he "may have been doped up and drunk and may have done something he did not remember." When they hypothetically asked him why someone would have killed the Swains, he said, "I think someone ran out of gas and someone needed money." About an hour into the questioning, Perry accused the detectives of putting words in his mouth, and refused to answer any other questions, so the interrogation was ended.

- Donnie Barrentine did not show up for work the day after the murders and could not give a reason as to why. However, he also did not show up for work the day prior to the murders either.

- Donnie Barrentine did not know the Swains. Dennis Perry claimed that he "knew of" Harold Swain, but multiple other people said that Perry knew Swain and that his grandfather lived approximately 1 minute away from the church. This is important because on the night of the murders, one of the women present in the church said that she heard the man tell Harold Swain that he wanted to talk to him outside, and that Harold tersely replied that he could talk to him in there. The implication was that Harold knew the man, and that it was a confrontational meeting. Perry's ex-girlfriend's mother told detectives that shortly before the murders, Perry told her that he had asked to borrow money from "the n-word that lived down the road from my grandfather", but the man laughed in his face and Perry said, "I'm going to kill that n-word".

- Perry's ex-girlfriend also told detectives that the man she found sleeping on the floor of her house with Perry that one morning, had a stepfather who wore a distinctive pair of safety glasses that looked near identical to the ones found at the murder scene. I suppose the theory was that it was possible that Perry stole these glasses and was wearing them the night of the murders, which could have been another reason as to why the hair found on the glasses did not match Perry.

Yeah, after reading that same appeal a while back (shortly after I listened to the episode on Robin's podcast), I came to the conclusion that Perry is probably the guy. I never thought Donnie Barrentine was a strong suspect even just after viewing the UM segment.

Curiously enough, Perry would've fit two completely different motives presented by each of the respective investigators interviewed. The sheriff's department put forth the theory that the Swain murders were retaliatory in nature; the GBI thought it was more likely that the perpetrator was a transient attempting a robbery. Turns out it was probably kinda both.

Yeah, after reading that same appeal a while back (shortly after I listened to the episode on Robin's podcast), I came to the conclusion that Perry is probably the guy. I never thought Donnie Barrentine was a strong suspect even just after viewing the UM segment.

Curiously enough, Perry would've fit two completely different motives presented by each of the respective investigators interviewed. The sheriff's department put forth the theory that the Swain murders were retaliatory in nature; the GBI thought it was more likely that the perpetrator was a transient attempting a robbery. Turns out it was probably kinda both.

There was also some testimony that a relative of Harold Swain had owed Dennis Perry money over a drug debt, and that was another motivation for the murders (and why Perry was asking Harold for money shortly before the murders).

Lengthy (https://www.ajc.com/alibi-story/) article about the case which was written last year. It seems like there is a cautious approach about charging Erik Sparre because of how much evidence has gone missing over the years. There was an alleged tape where he confessed to murdering the Swains while threatening his ex-wife. The tape is gone and the ex-wife passed away in 2013. Sparre also seemingly lied about his alibi at the time and made up the name of a fake supervisor. The real supervisor was found, but since it was over 30 years ago cannot remember if Sparre was actually working on the night of the murders. The only thing they have is a DNA match from the hairs found on the glasses left behind by the killer (both the hairs as well as the glasses are both gone now) which matches Sparre's mother.

“Unsolved Mysteries” viewers may recall that during the segment on the Swain murders, one of the law enforcement officials talks about how one of the descriptions of the alleged killer matched that of an alleged burglary suspect in Kansas in October and November of 1981.

To that end, I found an April 3, 1982 article in "The Wichita (Kansas) Eagle" regarding the use of churches by outside groups that stated in part: “Many Wichita churches are in less-than safe neighborhoods. A recent rash of church burglaries has heightened awareness that even churches aren’t exempt from crime. Expensive sound and kitchen equipment make tempting targets.”

Who knows? Maybe (emphasis on maybe) the burglaries referred to in the article are the same burglaries the segment alluded to.

Lengthy (https://www.ajc.com/alibi-story/) article about the case which was written last year. It seems like there is a cautious approach about charging Erik Sparre because of how much evidence has gone missing over the years. There was an alleged tape where he confessed to murdering the Swains while threatening his ex-wife. The tape is gone and the ex-wife passed away in 2013. Sparre also seemingly lied about his alibi at the time and made up the name of a fake supervisor. The real supervisor was found, but since it was over 30 years ago cannot remember if Sparre was actually working on the night of the murders. The only thing they have is a DNA match from the hairs found on the glasses left behind by the killer (both the hairs as well as the glasses are both gone now) which matches Sparre's mother.

The linked article here is really good and I think they have it figured out. But there is one thing that sticks out to me.

The police crime scene drawing they provide details the wounds to each of the bodies and they note that both Harold and Thelma were shot in the center of the crotch. That seems rather specific for a crime like this and makes me wonder if it was a sort of "crime of passion."

Yesterday, the GBI arrested Erik Sparre and charged him with the murders! In case anyone is unfamiliar, he was the "new" suspect whose DNA matched hair found attached to a pair of glasses found at the scene. Dennis Perry, who was previously convicted of the murders, was exonerated as a result.

GBI: Man arrested in murder of couple killed 39 years ago inside Camden County church (https://www.actionnewsjax.com/news/local/gbi-man-arrested-murder-couple-killed-39-years-ago-inside-camden-county-church/2EBLGUKP7NFKVFPZQQZDNB7BFA/)

Most of this article is blurred but has side by side pics of the two guys:

https://www.ajc.com/news/crime/gbi-charges-man-in-1985-church-killings-after-original-suspect-exonerated/IF257KGA5NGVXMPE5EM7Z5K4JY/

Adding link to long form article on the crime (should be unlocked):

https://www.ajc.com/alibi-story/

The 3/18 composite looks very close to me from the photo in my first link

This was the first case to feature Black victims of a crime on the show. Genuinely glad this is being solved, and the families can have some real closure this time. With the 40th anniversary of this tragedy coming up in March, I can't even imagine how painful it must be for the families to have to relive this over and over again.

Sparre was on law enforcement's radar one year after the murders because his ex-wife was shown three pairs of eyeglasses and asked if any of them were Sparre's, and she picked the pair that was left behind at the crime scene. At this point in 1986, the eyeglasses being left behind at the scene by the killer was not publicly known. Inexplicably, they stopped essentially dropped Sparre as a suspect when someone claiming to be his supervisor from work provided him with an alibi for the time of the murders.

His ex-wife who has now passed said that he was physically abusive towards her on multiple occasions. She described him as someone who had racist beliefs, constantly using slurs, and bragging about the crime. It was this testimony coupled with other things that made that podcast that covered this case suspicious of him. They pressured police to re-open the case and re-test the evidence they had. The glasses found at the scene were given to the producers of UM and have never been seen again, years later police would admit this was a huge mistake. The DNA given to police was from Erik's mom, she herself would end up dying under mysterious circumstances after that, I'm sure that also is being investigated.
You know the conclusion of this mystery is quite strange, maybe I'm out of my league here, but as soon as I saw Erik's picture I thought to myself: "wow that guy looks mixed-race, he looks like he could be a DeBarge". If he in fact is mixed I wonder if that had anything to do with both his racist views and with the crime he committed.

This case has finally been resolved! Dennis Perry was NOT guilty and Erik Sparre is charged instead!