WTF: Bill Sparkman - updated

Some thing make you scratch your head.  This is one.  Well, actually it's the bit that comes next.

Bill Sparkman, census worker - found dead with a rope around his neck hanging from a tree with the word "fed" scrawled on his chest.  Could be the workings of some deranged right-wing nutjob that the right blogosphere is insistent that law enforcement not be warned about.  But maybe not - apparently the area is rife with illegal pot farms and other lovely aspects of rural Kentucky.  God Bless The South.

Here is where the confusion sets in.

...saying that investigators had not yet determined even whether the death was a homicide.

and

Previous reporting "left the impression that [Sparkman] was found strung up in a tree because he was a federal employee," Beyer said. "At this juncture that's not accurate." Beyer added that Sparkman died of asphyxiation.

Seriously investigator d00ds, this is fucking bullshit.  Are you trying to tell us that you are seriously considering the possibility that Mr. Sparkman died of natural asphyxiative causes, or commited suicide by hanging himself in such a way that he was still touching the ground?  I appreciate that you don't want to release any information that might jeopordize your investigation - but right now you are looking like fucking idiots.

UPDATE:  h/t owlbear1 in this Sadly, No! comment thread

"The only thing he had on was a pair of socks," Weaver said. "And they had duct-taped his hands, his wrists. He had duct tape over his eyes, and they gagged him with a red rag or something.

"And they even had duct tape around his neck. And they had like his identification tag on his neck. They had it duct-taped to the side of his neck, on the right side, almost on his right shoulder."

Seriously investigator d00ds, WTF are you thinking?  Let's get the official word:

Trooper Trosper said it was clear this wasn't a natural death but said all other possibilities were being considered.

"This case has many facets," he said. "To investigate cases, you have to rule out different scenarios. We are not able to rule out many scenarios at this time, and that's what makes this a difficult case."

Really?  What other possible scenarios are there?