Craigslist killer details joy in murder

David Sparre writes New Year's letter to ex-girlfriend

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Exactly a month after a jury convicted him of first-degree murder, David Sparre, of Waynesville, Ga., wrote a letter claiming he "planned on doing what I did," and told his ex-girlfriend, "You want the truth? I did it for the rush."

Sparre faces the death penalty when a judge completes the sentencing phase of his trail at the end of March. The jury voted in favor of the death penalty 12-0 in December.

Sparre was convicted of stabbed 21-year-old Tiara Pool 89 times after he met her through a Craiglist ad she placed.

"After she quit fighting, I tilted her head and sliced her throat," Sparre wrote in the letter to Ashley Chewning, the mother of Sparre's daughter.

Sparre wrote, "I want to tell you the truth about why I killed that girl," then explained that he planned the killing for a week, looking for a victim in Jacksonville. He talked about using a visit to his sick grandmother in Jacksonville as "the perfect alibi."

DOCUMENT:  David Sparre's letter from prison to ex-girlfriend about killing
(Warning: Content contains graphic descriptions of violence)

Sparre is a 20-year-old who claims in the letter he has killed previously as a gang initiation rite.

"I never stabbed somebody, and so I just thought it would be a good rush, so I did it," he wrote.

Pool was married to a sailor and had two children. Sparre's defense attorney argued that Sparre "snapped" when he learned Pool was a Navy wife with two children, but did not find out until after they had sex.

Sparre's letter ended casually, talking about going to eat chili on New Year's Eve , and he signed the letter, "Loving and missing you, David."


About the Author

Kent Justice co-anchors News4Jax's 5 p.m., 10 and 11 p.m. newscasts weeknights and reports on government and politics. He also hosts "This Week in Jacksonville," Channel 4's hot topics and politics public affairs show each Sunday morning at 9 a.m.

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