On a tragic Valentine's Day in 2017, the life of 35-year-old Sparki Sue Garlinghouse, a White/Caucasian female from Lebanon, Oregon, was cut short. She was a devoted mother of two, a daughter, a sister, and a friend who was known for her loving heart and passion for life. Her interests were varied and included coaching her daughter's soccer and basketball teams, fishing, camping, hiking, hunting, and softball.
She worked as a certified medical assistant and office specialist, a career she was passionate about.
The events of that fateful morning unfolded at the home she once shared with her estranged husband, Jason Allen Garlinghouse. The couple was in the midst of divorce proceedings and a custody battle over their two young children. Despite the turmoil, Sparki would regularly visit the house to get her children ready for school. On this particular day, however, what was a routine visit turned into a deadly encounter. Jason Garlinghouse called 911, claiming his wife had attacked him and that he had shot her multiple times. When police arrived, they found Sparki's body on the floor, with children's backpacks and a set of keys in one hand and a large bread knife lying in her other open hand.
Jason Garlinghouse was taken into custody and subsequently charged with the murder of his wife. The prosecution's case argued that he had ambushed her, shooting her eight times before planting the knife in her hand to stage a scene of self-defense. A key piece of evidence was an audio recording from Sparki's cell phone, which she had started using to record her interactions with her estranged husband. The recording captured the sounds of her arrival, a cough, and then a succession of gunshots.
During the trial, Jason Garlinghouse maintained that he had acted in self-defense, testifying that his wife had become enraged, threatened him with the knife, and that he had shot her in fear for his life. However, the jury was not convinced. In May 2018, Jason Garlinghouse was found guilty of murder. He later appealed the conviction, but it was ultimately upheld. The two children, who were not present during the incident, were placed with relatives.
