The Murder of Donald Clark
For this episode I watched the latest episode of Snapped, which aired on March 21, 2021.
A father from a small Georgia town disappears.
Background
Donald Clark (Source: oxygen.com)
Donald was born in July 1967, and had two siblings. Donald grew up in Barnesville, Georgia, which is a very small town out in the country.
Donald always wanted to be a dad, and that dream of his came true when he got married for the first time. His first marriage didn’t last, but he did have a daughter named Nikki. He married again in 1997, when he met a woman named Jennifer, and they would go on to have two sons together, Josh and Jake.
It seemed like Jennifer and Donald were a happy couple, but after a few years together, their marriage reached a breaking point.
The Disappearance
On November 19, 2008, Donald’s sister, Brenda, went to the police station to file a missing persons report. Brenda said Jennifer told her that Donald never came home from work. Brenda also said Donald would never just leave his sons and disappear on his own. The police took her very seriously, and filed a missing persons report.
Jennifer and Donald had just recently reconciled after they were apart for about seven months, even divorce papers were filed. Jennifer had also gotten pregnant, and was now nine months pregnant. Jennifer came back to live with Donald about a month before he disappeared.
The police went to interview Jennifer. She said she was having problems sleeping the previous night, and when she woke up the next morning, Donald was gone. She assumed he had gone to work because his boots, truck and cell phone were also missing. She texted Donald, and he had responded with “K.”
The police also put a be on the lookout for Donald and his car.
The Investigation
During the investigation, Jennifer told the police that Donald had been seeing someone else during their time apart. Her name was Danielle, and she was a 24 year old woman that Donald hired to help babysit his kids. The police went to speak to Danielle, and she was distraught. She told the police that she ended the relationship, thinking she was too young for Donald. She said a few weeks after they stopped seeing each other, he reached out to her and wanted her to move back in with him. The police realized that Danielle had nothing to do with Donald’s disappearance, and she was ruled out.
The police also obtained Donald’s phone records, which he had stopped using as soon as he disappeared.
On November 25, 2008, Jennifer gave birth to her new baby. The police were shocked when they learned that her baby was not Donald’s, but a man named Michael Yost was the father. They learned that Jennifer had several affairs, and her most recent affair was with Michael, a 22 year old. Michael was also the son of Donald’s best friend.
Michael had lived with Donald and Jennifer, after he was released from prison on drug charges. Jennifer and Michael had then started sleeping together, and even moved out to be together. However, it didn’t last long and in September 2008, they moved in with Donald’s sister Brenda.
Brenda was interviewed in this episode, and she said while Jennifer was seeing Michael, she was also seeing Donald. Jennifer was planning to leave Michael to return to her family, at least that’s what she told everyone, except Michael.
New Evidence
The police now had two suspects, and on December 4, 2008, they obtained a warrant for Jennifer and Donald’s house. While they were searching the master bedroom, they became really suspicious. One of the walls, the one directly behind the bed, looked really clean. The wall was clean, but there was a lot of dust piled up in the corners of the room. The police shined a lot on the wall, and realized there were marks from it being wiped down. They wanted to call in an expert just to make sure.
The expert came in, and sprayed some chemicals on the wall and on the mattress. The chemicals showed that there were traces of blood on the mattress. The police were now faced with the possibility that Donald was most likely dead.
On December 8, 2008, the police had Jennifer come into the police station. They asked her about the blood, and she said she lived in a house with all boys, and there was probably going to be blood in the house. Jennifer’s story was not believable, so they questioned her 8 and 10 year old sons. One of the boys said that he heard running in the middle of the night, and went to check what the noise was. He said the back door was unlocked, so he locked it and went back to sleep.
The police also questioned Michael Yost, and he said he never hurt Donald, and that Donald was such a nice person. The police knew that Michael and Jennifer had done something to hurt Donald, they just didn’t know where Donald was.
A Discovery
On December 23, 2008, the police received a call from a man on the other side of town. He said his dog had found something, and it turned out to be a wallet containing Donald Clark’s license in it. The police went to the area, and discovered that Michael’s mom lived near by. The police searched a large wooded area, and found an aluminum baseball bat. They believed this was the murder weapon.
The day before Donald filed for divorce, he told his attorney that Jennifer had tried to kill him with a baseball bat. Jennifer denied this of course, but the police believed that this wasn’t the first time Jennifer had planned to kill him.
On Christmas Eve 2008, the state patrol were searching for Donald by helicopter, there were ground and vehicle searches too. They searched an area adjacent from Michael’s mom’s property, and suddenly they saw something. It was a blanket, with human toes peaking out. It was the body of Donald Clark, they were able to match his distinct tattoos. He was found about a month later after he disappeared. He had a plastic bag over his head, and his head was severely battered. He was also still in his pajamas, so Jennifer’s claim that he had gone to work was false.
Jennifer and Michael were arrested and were both taken into separate interrogation rooms.
He Said-She Said
Jennifer told the police that on November 18, she was with Donald, and in the middle of the night she heard Michael come in. She said she ran to the other room to check on her kids, and suddenly she heard the sound of Michael attacking Donald.
Jennifer said when Donald was dead, Michael forced her to help him move Donald’s body. They wrapped his head in two plastic bags, so that they wouldn’t make a mess. They then took him to the car, and put him in the back seat. They took his body to the wooded area, and Michael tossed the wallet and baseball bat on another road. Jennifer said she then returned home, cleaned up and went to work.
Michael’s story was different. He said that Jennifer was sleeping with both him and Donald, but told him she wanted to be with him. Michael said Jennifer called him at 1am, and told him she’d flash her lights when he could come in. Michael said he thought they were going to have sex, until he saw that Donald was home.
He said he heard Jennifer get the bat out of the closet, and she started attacking him. Michael said Donald was making noises, and Jennifer hit him a few more times. They then drove his body to the wooded area, and Jennifer told him to use Donald’s phone to send her a text message. She wanted to make it look like Donald was alive.
Trial and Conviction
In the fall of 2009, Michael agreed to plead guilty and was given a sentence of life in prison.
On January 31, 2011, Jennifer went on trial. The prosecution said that Jennifer wanted her life back. She wanted her kids, the house and Michael. Jennifer’s defense said that it was all Michael, and that Jennifer was nine months pregnant, which meant she couldn’t swing a large baseball bat.
On February 3, 2011, Jennifer testified, and pretty much said she was the victim. If Jennifer actually thought she was going to be acquitted, she ruined her chance of looking innocent. She had an outburst when the questioning became tense. She said that the only good thing about Michael was the thing between his legs. Yikes!
On February 4, 2011, after less than an hour of deliberation, Jennifer was found guilty. She was sentenced to life + 60 years.
Jennifer Clark and Michael Yost
Other
Donald and Jennifer’s sons were adopted by Donald’s sister Brenda.
Jennifer and Michael’s child was adopted by a local family.
FINAL THOUGHTS
I will never understand how murdering someone is better than getting a divorce. There are way too many cases out there like this. I feel so bad for these kids, especially because one of the boys heard something on the night his dad was murdered.
Jennifer and Michael blamed each other for what happened, and I think they 100% planned it together. They should both be in prison forever. I also think Donald’s family and their kids deserve to know the honest truth of who really killed him. Justice has been served, but these two monsters just need to own up to their shit, and let everyone move on.
Sources
https://www.oxygen.com/snapped/crime-news/jennifer-clark-kills-ex-husband-donald-clark-with-lover
