Hadden Clark born July 31, 1952 is an American murderer and suspected serial killer who has been serving two consecutive 30-year sentences for the murders of 6-year-old Michelle Dorr in 1986, and 23-year-old Laura Houghteling in 1992. He was also given a 10-year sentence for felony theft after stealing from a former landlord.
Early Life
Clark grew up in a well-to-do family, but since his parents were both alcoholics and abusive to their four children. Two of his two brothers would go on to commit murder and domestic violence, respectively. His mother dress him in girl’s clothes when she was drunk. From a young age, Hadden also discovered that he had sadistic tendencies, enjoying the pain that others felt when taking joy in bullying them as well as torturing animals.
As an adult, Hadden Clark went to school to specializing in the culinary arts by attending the Culinary Institute in America. While studying he worked for various high-class hotels and also had experience on board a cruise ship.Unfortunately, his mental illness often led him to being dismissed from these positions due to sabotage and theft. He would eventually drift through another series of menial jobs and a stint in the Navy which ended when he was discharged after his diagnosis as a paranoid schizophrenic. Soon he settled back in Maryland, where he was often homeless.
Murders
Clark claimed he began to kill in his teenage years in Chicago, but the first murder of which police have concrete evidence was six-year-old Michelle Dorr. Clark took the friend of his niece up to an upstairs room and stabbed Dorr to death. Clark then cannibalized her by drinking some of her blood. Police never suspected him as he wore a cast on his arm to prevent suspicion that he had hurt it while killing her. The girl’s father was initially the suspect.
In 1992, Hadden Clark murdered a young woman whose mother had given him a part-time gardening job. Clark killed Laura Houghteling after the 23-year-old accused him of stealing tools from her backyard shed. The investigators, who were already somewhat suspicious that Clark might have had something to do with Dorr’s murder, investigated Clark further upon discovering his connection to Houghtaling’s death. They quickly arrested him within days.
Trial and Imprisonment
Hadden Clark was sentenced to 30 years in prison the following year after pleading guilty to second-degree murder. In 1999, he was convicted of murdering Michelle Dorr after other prisoners testified that he had bragged about the crime. Another 30 years were added onto his sentence. for the robbery charge, meaning that Clark will effectively serve life in prison. He was also given a 10-year sentence for felony theft after stealing from a former landlord. In 2004, Hadden Clark of Kansas confessed in a letter to murdering an unidentified woman at Cape Cod in Massachusetts back in 1974 whom he referred to as “Lady of the Dunes” but later claimed that because of his paranoid schizophrenia, police doubt the accuracy of his story.
