A Georgia man has been charged with the 1985 killings at a church in southeast Georgia after DNA evidence cleared the man originally convicted for the crime. According to FOX 5 Atlanta, Erik Kristensen Sparre, 61, faces felony murder and aggravated assault charges for the deaths of Harold and Thelma Swain, who were shot inside Rising Daughter Baptist Church in Camden County.

Authorities revisited Sparre as a suspect when it became clear that they had prosecuted the wrong man, after a conviction that stood for nearly two decades. Dennis Perry, who was sentenced to life in prison when a jury found him guilty in 2003, saw the charges against him dismissed in 2021. As satisfied on the courthouse steps, "I am grateful that this part of the nightmare is behind me," Perry held back tears in a statement obtained by FOX 5 Atlanta.

The Georgia Innocence Project played a pivotal role in the case’s reversal when they tested DNA from hairs found on the glasses left at the crime scene, which matched Sparre, who had previously been a suspect but was never charged, as reported by Sky News. This discovery led to a retrial being ordered in 2020 for Perry and the eventual dismissal of his charges.

While Sparre was arrested in Waynesville, about 90 miles southwest of Savannah, he had previously denied any involvement in the Swains' killing. Working when the killings occurred at a grocery store, Sparre's alibi was called into question by an Atlanta Journal-Constitution investigation. Furthermore, the newspaper highlighted the fact that jurors, who convicted Perry, were not informed that a key witness had received a $12,000 reward prior to testifying.

Currently, it is not known whether Sparre has obtained legal representation, as attempts to reach him have been unsuccessful due to a non-working listed phone number. He awaits further proceedings at the Camden County jail.