On a tragic summer day in Memphis, Tennessee, the life of 23-year-old Marika Denise Clark was cut short. On June 27, 2021, a silver car pulled up to the emergency room of Regional One Health. From the driver's seat, a man moved the critically wounded Clark, who had sustained gunshot wounds to her neck and legs, to the entrance of the hospital and then drove away. Despite medical efforts, she succumbed to her injuries a short time later.
This act of violence left behind her two young children, a son and a daughter, and a grieving family.
The ensuing investigation, aided by surveillance footage from the hospital, quickly identified the man who dropped her off as her 27-year-old ex-boyfriend, Barry Medlock. Compounding the tragedy, their 7-month-old son was in the vehicle with Medlock when he fled, prompting the issuance of an AMBER Alert. Fortunately, the child was found safe a few days later. Medlock was apprehended four days after the incident.
In August 2022, a grand jury indicted Barry Medlock on charges of second-degree murder and being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm. The case was taken on by the Shelby County District Attorney's Domestic Violence Unit, which prosecutes homicides involving intimate partners. Medlock was subsequently held in the Shelby County Jail to await further legal proceedings.
