In the summer of 2018, the life of 49-year-old Renee L. Clark, a Caucasian female, came to a tragic and violent end in her Hampden, Maine, apartment. In the weeks leading up to her death on July 13, she found herself in a volatile domestic situation, entangled in a contentious divorce from her husband, Frank "Chuck" Clark III, and living in fear of his brother, Philip Clark, who resided in an adjoining apartment.
Renee had taken steps to protect herself, seeking a protection from abuse
order against her husband, citing verbal and physical abuse. She had also previously sought a protection order against her brother-in-law, Philip, in 2016, after he allegedly threatened to kill her, but her request was denied. In her application, she described Philip as having an apartment full of weapons and a history of drinking to the point of blacking out. The day of the murder, tensions escalated when Philip had a physical altercation with a priest who was a friend of Renee's.
On July 11, 2018, Philip Clark, armed with a gun, entered Renee's apartment. Following a heated exchange, he shot her multiple times, stopping to reload before continuing to fire until she stopped moving. After the shooting, he took her car, disposed of her keys, and returned home. Early on the morning of July 13, when police arrived for a welfare check, Philip Clark confessed to the killing. He later told detectives that he was in a rage and that Renee had pushed all his buttons.
Philip Clark, then 55, was arrested and charged with murder. He initially pleaded not guilty but confessed to the crime. In November 2019, a jury found him guilty of the intentional or knowing murder of Renee Henneberry Clark. The defense had argued for a manslaughter conviction, claiming he had "snapped," but the jury rejected this. Philip Clark was subsequently sentenced to 43 years in prison for the murder of his sister-in-law. His conviction was later upheld by the Maine Supreme Judicial Court in March 2021. The tragic death of Renee Clark also prompted a change in Maine's protection order laws.
