The Murder of Jeremy Barron
Warning, this case does discuss the possible sexual assault of a minor.
For this case, I watched an episode of Snapped. It’s season 24 episode 17.
Two teenagers discover the body of a man in a wooded area.
Background
Jeremy Barron was born in 1979, in Clearwater, Michigan. He was only 35-years-old when he died, and was a father of three children. He owned his own drywall business.
Jeremy enjoyed riding motorcycles, and was described as very adventurous. Jeremy did have a dark side, and had gotten involved in the party scene. Jeremy would often drink a lot, and take drugs.
In 2014, Jeremy met a woman named Ashley Hoath. Jeremy and Ashley would go on to a have a tumultuous on and off again relationship for years.
Jeremy Barron
The Discovery
On April 2, 2017, two Amish teenagers were out riding their horses, when they discovered a body. They didn’t have phones, so they rode to a nearby house, and the owner called 911.
The Hillsdale County Sheriff’s Department arrived on the scene. The victim was badly decomposed, but it was clear that he had been shot multiple times.
There wasn’t much evidence at the scene, except for some tire tracks filled with water, and multiple shell casings. The police believed that the man had been dumped there, as his clothing and shoes weren’t dirty.
The victim didn’t have his ID on him, and was badly decomposed. The police did search their database for missing persons reports. Jeremy Barron was featured on what the police called their Wanted Wednesday report. Jeremy had failed to report for his court date for a recent arrest. He had been missing for over 6 weeks.
Jeremy’s Wanted poster
The medical examiner was able to collect fingerprints, and identify their victim as Jeremy Barron.
A Possible Motive
The police looked at Jeremy’s criminal history. Before his death, Jeremy had been a suspect in a criminal sexual assault case of a minor.
Now, before I continue, I have a feeling some might be angry with me for covering this case. Yes, Jeremy wasn’t a completely innocent person. He was never convicted of what he was accused of doing. Jeremy was a person too, and didn’t deserve to be murdered.
A friend of Jeremy’s had accused him of assaulting his daughter. Jeremy had been arrested for it, and bonded out by Ashley. Jeremy had a court date scheduled. Jeremy claimed he was wrongfully accused, so it was a shock when he didn’t show up to court on February 15, 2017. A warrant was put out for his arrest when he didn’t show up.
The police’s first theory was that Jeremy had fled to avoid a possible 15 year prison sentence. This theory went out the window after Jeremy’s body was found.
A List of Suspects
Ashley was the first person that the police wanted to speak to. Ashley told the police that she believed Jeremy was innocent, and had bonded him out of jail.
Due to her relationship with Jeremy and her partying, Ashley had lost custody of her children. At the time of Jeremy’s death, Ashley was working on getting her children back. Ashley had a new job, and an apartment. The only thing she couldn’t get rid of was Jeremy. Ashley told the police that she had still be seeing Jeremy in secret, and seemed devastated by his death.
Ashley was asked who she thought had killed Jeremy. Ashley said it could’ve been the father of the young girl involved in the court case. He had been making comments on social media about how he would’ve killed Jeremy if he had a gun.
The man was brought in for questioning on April 5. He didn’t hide his feelings about Jeremy, but said he didn’t actually kill him. He said he would be willing to take a polygraph to prove it. The police were able to rule him out as a suspect.
An Unlikely Tip
During their investigation, the police discovered that Jeremy had been involved with a lot of sketchy people.
One friend of Jeremy’s told the police that she had an intimate relationship with Jeremy, but they never dated. This woman was also friends with Ashley. She was asked who she thought had killed Jeremy. She said the police should look into a man named Jay Clark.
Jay was from Ohio, and was a little bit older than the group. He met Ashley in 2016, and became infatuated with her. Jay had bought Ashley a car, paid her rent, and would buy her drinks when they went out. Ashley told him that she wasn’t into him like that, and wanted to be friends. Jeremy’s friend told the police that Jay was jealous of Jeremy, and would get mad if his name was brought up.
Ashley’s sister, Jolene was asked to come into the station for an interview. The police believed if Ashley was involved, then she would have confided in her sister.
Jolene admitted that she had a secret. She and Ashley both worked at Burger King, and Ashley had admitted to Jolene at work, that she had been with Jay when Jeremy was killed. Jolene told Ashley to go to the police, but she refused.
Ashley’s Story
On April 9, Ashley was questioned again. The police turned up the heat, and told Ashley that they had been watching her. They told her that they knew what she had told Jolene at work. They told her that they would listen, as Burger King had surveillance footage with sound.
Ashley told the police that she was afraid of Jay, but admitted to being there when Jeremy was shot.
Ashley said she met Jay in the fall of 2016. She would confide in Jay about her relationship with Jeremy. Ashley said Jeremy was abusive, had gotten her into drugs, and that he was the reason why her kids were taken away.
Ashley said she was hanging out with Jay and Jeremy on February 8, 2017. Ashley said it was the first time the two men had met. She said everyone was getting along fine, until they decided to drive to another friend’s house.
The friend wasn’t home, so they got back in Jay’s car, a white Chevy Tahoe. Ashley said Jay took out a gun, and started shooting Jeremy. Ashley begged Jay to take her home, which he did. Ashley said Jay was alone when he dumped Jeremy’s body.
Ashley was charged with accessory after the fact and obstruction of justice. The police believed Ashley was more involved, or at least knew more, but they couldn’t prove it.
Jay’s Story
Jay had fled the area after the murder. The police went to the DMV, and were able to trace the car’s identification number. The car had been sold to a buyer in Toledo, Ohio. The buyer was contacted, and the car was searched. The backseat of the car was missing, but there wasn’t any other evidence inside.
The police knew that Ashley was the one person who could get Jay back into town. Ashley contacted him, and he came running. A traffic stop was done, and Jay was arrested because police had found meth in the car.
Jay was questioned at the station. The police told him that Ashley had said he was the shooter. Jay said he was, and shot him about 3-4 times. The police asked Jeremy what kind of gun he used. His reply was, “a big one.”
Jay told the police everything Ashley had. He said Ashley wasn’t involved, and he did drop her off before he dumped Jeremy’s body.
Jay told the police that his motive was to get Jeremy out of Ashley’s life. Jay said Ashley was so afraid of Jeremy, and wanted her kids back. It’s clear that Jay was manipulated by Ashley, and probably thought she’d date him when Jeremy was gone.
Jay was charged with homicide open murder, meaning the jury would decide whether to convict him of either first or second degree murder.
The Convictions
On May 10, Ashley took a polygraph test with the Michigan State police. She failed, and eventually admitted that she knew Jeremy would be killed that night.
Ashley said they did drive to a friend’s house that night, but the friend wasn’t home. Jay and Ashley had created a code phrase “get ‘er done,” for when it was time to shoot Jeremy. Jay then killed Jeremy, dropped Ashley off, and dumped Jeremy in the wooded area.
Ashley’s charges were upgraded to murder and conspiracy to commit murder.
The police had discovered a 5th bullet wound in Jeremy’s body. The wound was a different size than the others. Ashley denied shooting Jeremy, and that wound has never been explained.
In October 2017, Ashley agreed to testify against Jay, in exchanged for a plea deal. Ashley pled guilty to second degree murder, and was sentenced to 25-40 years. She will be eligible for parole in 2042.
Jay was tried three months later. Ashley now refused to testify, so her sister, Jolene, did instead. Jolene said her sister was the mastermind, and had manipulated Jay.
On January 12, 2018, Jay Clark was sentenced to life without parole.
Ashley now says she’s innocent, and is working on clearing her name. Her latest appeal was denied.
Jay Clark and Ashley Hoath
FINAL THOUGHTS
Jeremy had a lot of demons. He wasn’t an innocent victim, but he didn’t deserve to be shot and dumped in the woods. If he was innocent, he never got a chance to clear his name. Three children lost their father, and three other children lost their mother because of one stupid decision. Jay doesn’t seem like he has much remorse, but he too lost his life because he was in love with Ashley.
Sources
https://hillsdalecollegian.com/2017/11/heath-pleads-guilty/
https://www.mlive.com/news/jackson/2018/01/woman_sentenced_to_25_to_40_ye.html
https://www.mlive.com/news/jackson/2018/01/co-defendant_defies_court_orde.html
https://www.wilx.com/content/news/Ohio-man-convicted-of-murder-in-Hillsdale-County-469052493.html
https://www.northwestsignal.net/article_f8a68275-9390-5a54-a39b-0c64d532edd2.html
https://www.hillsdale.net/story/news/courts/2018/07/05/court-appeals-denies-hoath-s/11594787007/
