In the quiet woods of Camden Township, Michigan, a grim discovery was made on April 2, 2017, when Amish children riding their horses stumbled upon the body of 37-year-old Jeremy Alan Barron. The cause of the male victim's death was quickly determined to be multiple gunshot wounds, launching a homicide investigation that would unravel a story of a troubled relationship and a calculated murder.
Barron's body had been left in a field off of Dimmers Road, where it lay hidden for some time before being found.
The investigation into Barron's death led authorities to two individuals: 40-year-old Jay Scott Clark of Bryan, Ohio, and 27-year-old Ashley Diane Hoath of Hillsdale. Hoath was the victim's girlfriend and, during a police interview, admitted that she wanted Barron dead, alleging that he was abusive and had taken her children from her. According to her account, she was present when her friend, Jay Clark, shot Barron four times in the back inside of Clark's Chevrolet Tahoe. Hoath recalled Clark asking Barron to promise he would not hurt her again, and when Barron did not respond, Clark looked at Hoath and asked, 'Get her done?' to which she replied, 'Yeah, get her done,' before the fatal shots were fired.
Following their arrests, both Clark and Hoath faced a series of charges. Clark was charged with open murder, carrying away/disposing of a corpse, felon in possession of a firearm, felony firearm, concealing the death of an individual, possession of methamphetamine, and carrying a concealed weapon. Hoath was charged with accessory after the fact to open murder and lying to the police in a criminal investigation.
In a turn of events, Ashley Hoath entered into a plea agreement and pleaded guilty to second-degree murder on October 31, 2017. In exchange for her plea, other charges against her were dismissed. Part of her plea deal required her to testify against Jay Scott Clark, but when called to the witness stand during his trial, she refused. Despite her refusal to testify, the jury convicted Clark of first-degree murder and felony firearm. Hoath was sentenced to 25 to 40 years in prison for her role in the murder. For his part in the crime, Jay Scott Clark received a mandatory sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.
