Tennessee — Two foster teens,James Earl Garrett, 17, and Jeffery Byrd Johnson Jr., 15, are charged with killing their foster mother and her mother-in-law shortly after the new year. At around 1:00 or 2:00 am, Mary Clark, 38, and her mother-in-law, Gail Clark, 66, were shot execution style, possibly while they slept. The alleged shooters, Mary Clark’s foster children aged 15 and 16, called 911 around 4:00 am. Investigators found one body in a bedroom and the other in the living room.
Mary Clark shares the home with her husband and daughter, but they were out of town on Monday night. Gail Clark is from Orange, Mass. and was at the home visiting. Officials said they believe there was a motive in the slayings, but have not said what it was. Late Tuesday, police charged the two with two counts of first degree murder. They are both cooperating with police. The DCS said the children had been in the Clark home for less than a year.
Excuse the picture, I couldn’t find a decent one to use. I’ll replace it when one becomes available.
12:06 pm on January 2nd, 2008
Wow.
I wonder, what lesson is there to learn from this? Could this have been avoided? I doubt it. Had the adults been armed, there’s no guarantee that would have prevented anything. And, by their very nature, there is a certain amount of risk associated with hosting older foster children.
This is, unfortunately, just another example of good people (so it appears) falling victim to violent crime.
12:07 pm on January 2nd, 2008
What is the definition of “execution style”? I had always thought the victims were alive and were shot in the back of the head.
Once again, I hate fucking guns! But I wonder where the teens got the gun? And why? Why shoot someone that has taken you in? And especially the mother-in-law? Why not just run the fuck away?
12:18 pm on January 2nd, 2008
Execution style usually means the back of the head and at close range.
12:21 pm on January 2nd, 2008
Yes, why not? Those kids were already a part of the system, if they were having troubles, why not asked to be placed somewhere else?
What if they were abused though, by the foster parents? That could be a possibility. (not a good reason to shoot someone, but just saying)…
12:49 pm on January 2nd, 2008
That picture looks like Jimmy Osmond – maybe on steroids.
2:33 pm on January 3rd, 2008
a FEW more details…
http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080103/NEWS03/801030386
2:54 pm on January 3rd, 2008
Thank you for posting that article link, Kathy. It sounds as if this poor lady should have stuck to caring for homeless dogs. Now she’s dead, her husband’s mother is dead, and the father and daughter are left to deal with this tragedy. Very, very sad.
12:35 am on January 5th, 2008
More stuff, with pics of the foster kids.
http://www.wsmv.com/news/14978945/detail.html
12:53 am on January 5th, 2008
Thanks, Kathy. I updated the story with the pic and names.
1:41 am on January 5th, 2008
Well, guess I got that questioned answered….the older boy did ask for different placement. Why? What was going on with this kid? Why in only a short time to he decide to murder this lady? I am baffled.
1:50 am on January 5th, 2008
“Clark said the 17-year-old had been called racial slurs by neighborhood kids and that he didn’t like living in the rural stretch of Dickson County. He wanted to be closer to his family in Clarksville, Clark said.”
Hippie, this is why the kid supposedly asked for different placement according to the husband and son of the victims. But if you read the second article I posted it almost seems as the if the judge is alluding to more.
You know, these are big kids. Full grown or close to it. I remember being a camp counselor in college and having to chastise 17 year old kids, from disadvantaged backgrounds, who were over 6 ft tall for one reason or another. Its not easy trying to be authoritative over kids that are much bigger than you. I can never see doing what this lady did.
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