Vernon Lee Clark

Serial Killer

Vernon Lee Clark: Maryland Serial Killer

Vernon Lee Clark was an American serial killer whose crimes terrorized communities in and around Elkridge, Ellicott City, and Catonsville, Maryland, during the 1980s. Clark was ultimately held responsible for the murders of four women, with forensic evidence, guilty pleas, and a confession gradually connecting him to crimes that had remained unsolved for years or even decades. He was also investigated as a suspect in the unsolved double murder of Carvel and Sarah Faulkner in 1979. Clark was born on December 28, 1955, and grew up in Elkridge in Howard County, Maryland. As an adult, he worked at various jobs, including as a laborer and animal skinner at an animal-rendering plant. He also performed yard work, gardening, and other jobs for people in the area. That employment brought him into the lives of some of the women he later murdered.

A Killer Hidden in a Familiar Community

One of the disturbing characteristics of Clark's crimes was his familiarity with several of his victims. Rebecca H. "Dolly" Davis had employed him for yard work, while Evelyn Dieterich knew him through gardening or handyman work. Clark had also previously worked for a business operated by Carvel and Sarah Faulkner, whose murders would later be investigated for a possible connection to him. For years, investigators did not have the forensic technology necessary to connect Clark to the older killings. Biological material was nevertheless preserved from some of the crime scenes. When DNA testing became significantly more advanced during the 1990s, evidence that had been stored for nearly two decades finally began identifying the same man.

The Murder of Rebecca "Dolly" Davis

Rebecca H. "Dolly" Davis was a 70-year-old Elkridge resident, artist, former teacher, and community volunteer. Clark had occasionally performed work around her property. Davis disappeared in February 1980, and her partially buried body was discovered on February 22 near her home in the 6100 block of Lawyers Hill Road in Elkridge. Davis had suffered multiple stab wounds, and investigators found evidence that she had been sexually assaulted. The official Maryland death index records her date of death as February 16, 1980. At the time of the original investigation, Clark was interviewed because of his association with Davis, but police lacked evidence sufficient to charge him. The case remained unresolved for almost two decades. Advances in DNA testing eventually allowed detectives to examine biological material preserved from the Davis investigation and compare it with Clark's DNA. The samples matched. Clark was charged in 1999 and eventually pleaded guilty to first-degree murder on February 13, 2001. He received another life sentence for Davis's murder. ...

Confirmed Victims: (4)

Rebecca Davis Age: (70), Date of Death: 1980-02-16

Suspected Victims:

Carvel Faulkner Age: (58), Date of Death: 1979

Sara Faulkner Age: (56), Date of Death: 1979

Vernon Lee Clark - Wikipedia