On a tragic day in Elkridge, Maryland, the lives of Sarah M. Faulkner, a 56-year-old female, and her husband, Carvel, were brutally cut short. On April 25, 1979, the couple was discovered deceased inside their home in what was determined to be a homicide. The scene was particularly grim; Carvel had been shot, while Sarah had her throat slit. This violent event marked the beginning of a long and frustrating investigation for law enforcement, a case that would remain officially unsolved for decades, yet haunted by a strong and persistent suspicion.
The initial investigation into the double homicide left detectives with few leads. There were no signs of forced entry into the Faulkner's home, and a sum of money was left in plain view, suggesting that robbery was not the primary motive. For years, the case grew cold, a painful and unanswered question for the family and the community. However, the name of a former employee of the Faulkners, Vernon L. Clark, would eventually surface and become inextricably linked to the crime. Clark had worked for the couple's sanitation company and was a known figure in the area. While initially not a primary suspect in the Faulkner case, his subsequent criminal activities would cast a dark shadow of suspicion back onto him.
Over the next decade, a series of violent crimes, including several murders of elderly women in and around the Elkridge area, would lead investigators to focus on Clark. His connection to these other victims, often as a handyman or acquaintance, and the brutal nature of the crimes, drew parallels to the Faulkner case. In 1991, Clark was convicted and sentenced to life in prison for the 1989 murder of Kathleen Gouldin. With a known killer in custody who had a direct link to the Faulkners, investigators began to re-examine the cold case from 1979. In the late 1990s, with advancements in forensic science, authorities announced they would be conducting DNA tests to try and definitively link Clark to the murders of Sarah and Carvel Faulkner. Despite these efforts and the strong belief among many in law enforcement and the community that Clark was responsible, he was never officially charged with or convicted of their murders. The case of Sarah and Carvel Faulkner remains a cold case, a chilling example of a crime where the prime suspect was a convicted serial killer, yet justice for the Faulkner family was never formally served.
