CAMDEN COUNTY, GA — The GBI makes an arrest in the case of a couple killed nearly four decades ago in a southeast Georgia church.

61-year-old Erik Sparre of Waynesville is charged with two counts of murder and two counts of aggravated assault. Sparre was arrested in Waynesville, Brantley County, GA without incident.

In 1985, Deacon Harold Swain and his wife Thelma, were taking part in a bible study at the Rising Daughter Baptist Church when Sparre barged into the room and shot and killed them. The Swains were killed while eight other parishioners at the historically black church could only look on.

Another man was arrested and convicted in the couple’s murder in 2003. Dennis Perry was released from prison 20 years later and exonerated when new DNA evidence linked Sparre to the murders.

This investigation is active and ongoing. Anyone with information is encouraged to contact the GBI regional investigative office in Kingsland at 912-729-6198. Anonymous tips can also be submitted by calling 1-800-597-TIPS (8477), online at https://gbi.georgia.gov/submit-tips-online, or by downloading the See Something, Send Something mobile app.