Murder of Tiara Pool

On July 7, 2010, 21-year-old Tiara Nichelle Pool, the wife of a U.S. Navy sailor, was murdered in her Jacksonville, Florida apartment. Pool, whose husband was deployed at sea and whose two sons were temporarily living with their paternal grandparents, had posted a sexually suggestive advertisement on Craigslist seeking male companionship. A 19-year-old Georgia resident, David Kelsey Sparre, responded to the ad, and after roughly a week of messaging, the two agreed to meet. Sparre met Pool near St. Vincent's Medical Center, where he had been visiting his grandmother, and returned with her to her apartment.

According to the account established at trial, after Sparre and Pool had consensual sex, Sparre took a knife from the kitchen and stabbed Pool to death. He then stole a PlayStation console, a DVD, and a wireless modem from the apartment and fled in Pool's 2003 Chevrolet Malibu, later abandoning the vehicle near the hospital and selling the PlayStation at a pawn shop in Georgia. Sparre reportedly told his then-girlfriend about the killing. Pool's body remained undiscovered in her bedroom for five days until a friend, concerned by her being uncontactable, found her on July 12, 2010. Police classified the death as a homicide and sought public assistance identifying witnesses.

Investigators traced the Craigslist ad and identified Sparre as the primary suspect. He was arrested on July 26, 2010, at a family member's home in Charleston, South Carolina, three weeks after the killing, and was charged with first-degree murder. His trial before a Duval County jury began on November 28, 2011. Prosecutor Bernie de la Rionda argued the killing was premeditated given the number of stab wounds, while the defense contended Sparre had intended only to have sex with Pool and "snapped" after learning she had misrepresented herself. Confession tapes were played for the jury. On December 2, 2011, after 25 minutes of deliberation, the jury found Sparre guilty of first-degree murder. During sentencing, a letter Sparre wrote from prison was admitted as evidence, in which he expressed a desire to kill again. On December 13, 2011, the jury unanimously recommended a death sentence, and on March 30, 2012, Circuit Judge Elizabeth Senterfitt formally sentenced Sparre to death.

Sparre has pursued multiple unsuccessful appeals, including a direct appeal dismissed by the Florida Supreme Court in January 2015, and further post-conviction and re-sentencing appeals rejected in 2019, 2024, and 2025. As of 2026, Sparre remains on death row at Union Correctional Institution.