|
| |
BOYNTON - Muskogee County sheriff's deputies were called to a home south of Boynton on Tuesday after the homeowner was found dead in his front yard.
Gregory Clark, whose age was estimated to be about 35, was found face down in his front yard at his rural residence about five miles south of Boynton in Muskogee County. The sheriff's department was called about 3:30 p.m., said Darrin Smith, chief deputy with the Muskogee County Sheriff's Department.
"He didn't show up for work this morning," Smith said.
Deputies believe he may have died from a blow to the head, but they were not sure how long he had been in the wet, soggy yard.
"There was a flashlight laying out there, and he didn't make it to work, so we're going to guess it may have happened early this morning," Deputy Tim Brown said.
A friend of Clark's, who did not want to be identified, stood in the road in front of the yellow crime-scene tape that blocked the driveway.
"He was a good friend," the man said.
He said he and Clark had worked together at Georgia-Pacific. Clark was a mechanic for Jenkins Construction, the man said.
The man said Clark had a young son and daughter and that he had known him for "quite a while."
"We fought chickens together before they outlawed it," he said. "He was a good friend - do anything for you."
Five homicides have occurred this year within the city limits of Muskogee. Clark is the second homicide to take place in the county this year. Dec. 1, Muskogee County deputies shot and killed 33-year-old David Wayne Stockton as they tried to serve him with a warrant.
Deputies Brandon Caster and Bentley McDonald shot Stockton in Oktaha after he refused to put down a rifle with which he was armed.
Stockton was being sought on rape charges filed in Wagoner County.
Clark's wife, from whom he had been separated, had gone to the home to check on her estranged husband. When she saw what appeared to be a bullet hole in the window of a vehicle parked outside the front door, she left.
"She backed out and went to Boynton to her in-laws," Smith said.
Gregory Clark's father and another relative went to Clark's home, where they found him near a fence line about 120 feet southwest of his front door.
"There are signs on the ground of a struggle," Smith said. "There's no signs
of any struggle inside the home."
But, outside the door of the home,
something else may have occurred.
"Something happened by that car," Brown said about the car with the bullet hole in the window.
Orange cones were placed near the fence to mark where Clark's body, a baseball cap and a flashlight were found. Clark was wearing blue jeans, work boots, a black T-shirt and a dark blue jacket when he was found, Smith said.
"It makes me wonder if he chased somebody out there," Smith speculated about the distance between Clark and the house.
Additional cones were placed in front of the residence to preserve tire tracks and footprints so plaster casts could be made.
"We're losing light, so we're going to have to put a 24-hour guard out here so we can start again in the morning," Smith said as the sun began to go down.
Clark's body was to be taken to the Oklahoma State Medical Examiner's Office in Tulsa for an autopsy to determine an exact cause of death.
A man who was found beaten to death Tuesday in his own front yard near Boynton also had been shot twice, a deputy said Wednesday.
Gregory Clark, 35, was found face down in the front yard at his rural residence about five miles south of Boynton in Muskogee County. Although Clark died from blunt trauma injuries to the head, the Oklahoma State Medical Examiner's Office in Tulsa determined he had other wounds, said Darrin Smith, chief deputy at the Muskogee County Sheriff's Department.
"He had two superficial gunshot wounds - one near his elbow and one near his shoulder," Smith said.
The wounds were in different arms.
"They appear to be small caliber," Deputy Tim Brown said.
Clark is the seventh homicide victim of the year in the county. Five of those occurred in the city of Muskogee.
A forklift mechanic, Clark did not show up for work Tuesday, and his estranged wife went to the residence. There she found a bullet hole in the window of a car parked in front of the house. She backed out of the driveway, drove to Boynton and retrieved her father-in-law and another relative who went to Clark's home and found his body in the yard.
Investigators still don't have a motive for the killing. It did not appear that anything was missing from Clark's home, and there were weapons inside.
"He had some guns in the house, but none of them had been fired," Smith said.
Officers remained at the house overnight to keep the scene secure, Brown said.
Officers continued their investigation Wednesday morning. Oklahoma Highway Patrol Troopers Keith Williams, Ron Jenkins and Jason Holt spent several hours using laser equipment to map out the scene.
"Other evidence was recovered," Brown said.
Brown made plaster casts of footprints and tire tracks at the scene, he said.
Funeral services for Clark are pending with Muskogee Cremation and Funeral Service.
This site may be freely linked, but not duplicated in any way without consent.
All rights reserved! Commercial use of material within this site is prohibited!
© 2000-2024 Oklahoma CemeteriesThe information on this site is provided free for the purpose of researching your genealogy. This material may be freely used by non-commercial entities, for your own research, as long as this message remains on all copied material. The information contained in this site may not be copied to any other site without written "snail-mail" permission. If you wish to have a copy of a donor's material, you must have their permission. All information found on these pages is under copyright of Oklahoma Cemeteries. This is to protect any and all information donated. The original submitter or source of the information will retain their copyright. Unless otherwise stated, any donated material is given to Oklahoma Cemeteries to make it available online. This material will always be available at no cost, it will always remain free to the researcher.