Not guilty plea entered for Savannah Spurlock’s accused killer

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WTVQ) — For the first time Friday, family and friends faced the accused killer of a Richmond mother of four.

It was just over a week ago that charges against David Sparks were upgraded to murder in the case of Savannah Spurlock. He was indicted by a grand jury last week for her murder.

He had previously only been charged with abuse of a corpse and tampering with evidence.

Shackled and wearing a bullet proof vest is how Sparks walked into the courtroom.

His stay wasn’t long.

“We entered a not guilty plea for David and just because he’s indicted doesn’t mean he’s guilty or that the commonwealth will be able to prove that he’s guilty,” says Sparks’ attorney, Erica Roland.

Spurlock disappeared in January.

More than six months later, officers say they found her body naked and bound, in garbage bags buried in a shallow grave on Sparks’ parents’ property.

Investigators say he replaced a rug in his bedroom because a similar one was found buried with her.

That’s when police arrested him.

Investigators say they found Spurlock’s blood inside his bedroom closet door.

No cause for her death has been released yet.

Roland says the public defender’s office is doing its own investigation.

“We’re deeply sorry for miss Spurlock’s family and we hope they’re able to get the answers they’re looking for,” says Roland.

Spurlock’s loved ones filled three rows in the courtroom.

Though none wanted to speak with us after, a man who helped search for her said he’d tell us this one thing.

“They’re family to me now and we just want everybody to respect their privacy. They are wonderful people obviously going through something horrible. We just want privacy during this,” says family friend Terry Graves.

The commonwealth asked for another month to gather its case since there’s so much evidence to pore through. The judge allowed that.

Sparks’ next court date is scheduled for November 1st at 10:30 a.m.