Snapped: Women Who Murder - Jennifer Clark

Episode Date: May 15, 2022

When a man goes missing in rural Barnesville, Georgia, investigators attempt to determine if he left on his own or if foul play occurred.Season 28, Episode 26Originally aired: March 21, 2021Watch full episodes of Snapped for FREE on the Oxygen app: https://oxygentv.app.link/WsLCJWqmIebSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Hi, I'm Lindsey Graham, the host of Wondries Podcast American Scandal. Our newest series looks at the story of OxyContin, a popular painkiller that helps spur an epidemic of addiction and drug abuse, in which prompted a broad campaign to hold the pharmaceutical industry accountable. Listen to American Scandal on Amazon Music or wherever you get your podcasts. When a loving family man goes missing, the ensuing investigation turns a small town upside down. He was very devoted to those sons.

She made him happy. They were really good together. I knew something had happened. He wasn't one to take off. But is this seemingly happy family hiding a dark secret? There was some allegations made that they were involved But is this seemingly happy family hiding a dark secret? There was some allegations made that they were involved in some kind of relationship together. She seduced him, basically. And, you know, he was quite willing to be seduced.

As the truth comes to light, a horrifying plan is revealed. She was standing over him with that baseball bat. She kept saying that she was afraid that her children might not be safe. It was just obvious that she were dealing with a person that had a very, very, very quick trigger. He admitted to taking him out, putting him in the car, and going away with him.

We could see a camouflage blanket with human toes sticking out at the end of it. It's always haunted me a little bit, was there more that could have been done to protect him. November 19th, 2008, Barnesville, Georgia. Barnesville is still like a very small town out in the country, and everybody knows everybody. It's a great place to live. But the piece of this small community is shattered when local resident Brenda Maddox walks into the Lamar County Sheriff's Department and demands to speak to a detective about her brother,

41-year-old Donald Clark. Donald always called the whole family every day. Every day, we heard from him. But at that point, we hadn't heard from him in a couple days. Brenda says that Donald's ex-wife Jennifer Clark told family members that the last time she heard from Donald was earlier that same morning.

She said he had went to work that morning and never came home. And she had seen him since. Donald and Jennifer were still living together. After they had gotten a divorce and gotten back together, he had two children, young sons there at the house. Assistant Brenda knew that he was very devoted to those sons, and she did not believe that anything

would have prevented him from coming home. I knew Dan something was definitely very, very wrong. They took me to another room and asked me questions and made the report. Based off what you know about him as an individual, it really made us believe that something had happened to Donald. MUSIC Donald Eugene Clark was born on July 13, 1967 in Washington state,

the second of three children. We was an 80-brat. I think it was three when we came back to Georgia. And we came back because this is where my daddy was from. The Clark family settled in rural Barnesville, 60 miles south of Atlanta. We're riding motorcycles, warwillers. We had them all growing up.

We hunted everything in deer, pigs, it didn't matter. We had a lot of good times. In 1985, Donald left high school early to start working at the local mill. Lord, I don't know anything he wasn't good at when he tried it. He stated in almost everything that he tried. It was very good as a job, he rose quickly. Though dedicated to his career, what Donald really wanted

was a family of his own, a dream he thought he'd achieved when he married in his early 20s. He met his first wife, Rebecca, pretty early, and they had Niki together and family met everything to Donald. But the dream was short-lived, and by 29, Donald was single once again. He always wanted a family he aspired to be a family man. His first one failed, and he just wanted to start over.

Not long after his divorce, Donald met 18-year-old Jennifer Lee Drennan in 1996. They met through a high school friend of hers, and that's how they got together. Jennifer, known to friends as Jenny, was raised and only child. She was good kid. She was quite spoiled. She was quite spoiled. She pretty much got what she wanted.

She spent a lot of time in West Virginia, that's where she grew up. She became a CNA. She really enjoyed it and everything, so she started doing other stuff, blood work and infusions. And then she eventually got to work at the nursing homes. Donald was instantly smitten with Jennifer.

And after just one year of dating, the couple was engaged. She loves him, he loves her. As long as he took care of my daughter, I was completely satisfied. Donald was very happy, like really excited. He got the chance to do it all over again and do it right this time.

Following their wedding in 1997, Jennifer quickly embraced the role of doting wife. She would fix this place, she would bring it to him when he came home from work. She treated him really well. He was successful in his life and he gave her home. He gave her, you know, anything Ginny asked for, she got. Donald and Jennifer's family grew in 1998 and 2000

when they welcomed their two boys. Ginny was tickled pink to be pregnant with Josh. And when she got pregnant with Jake, she was just as ecstatic over that. The kids was, I mean, they were well taken care of, anything they needed. They got. By early 2008, Jennifer was pregnant once again,

but what should have been a happy time strained the family to the breaking point. In the beginning, I have fond memories of my dad and Ginny, but I noticed she got where she would talk down to him. She talked to him like he was a child and she was better than him. There was a lot of fights. There was good times, but more bad times and good times.

The marriage, it was an up and down thing, you know. She just didn't know which way he was gonna be. He came in to talk with me about getting a divorce. The divorce started in March. It didn't get finalized until July 1st of 2008. That same month, Jennifer moved back in with her mother nearly 600 miles away in West Virginia, leaving the boys with Donald.

She's still loved him. But, you know, from what I understood, she wasn't getting what she wanted out of the marriage. They needed to start over. He was still in love with her. I mean, it was one of these situations where he was more heartbroken than he was mad. After seven months away in October 2008,

Jennifer moved in with Donald's sister Brenda to be closer to the boys. No matter what, my dad loved Jenny, and he desperately wanted that family. So he would go over there, he would see her, and then one day they had a conversation, and he decided he wanted to try it again. He wanted it to work it out.

Donald led her move back in the house. With just weeks until the birth of baby number three, the family was reunited and stronger than ever. They seem to be excited about trying to make it work. But the Clarks' happy reunion seems to be in jeopardy on November 19th, while Brandt Amatics fills out a missing persons report for her brother, Donald. He always came home to his kids.

He always came home to her. He had never in the whole entire relationship not come home. At Branda's request, missing persons' detectives pay a visit to Jennifer and Donald's home. We have to talk to Jennifer about his whereabouts. We felt like, you know, it might indicate what happened to Donald.

The initial statement from Jennifer Clark was that Donald Clark came home from work. She was frying chicken. She gave him dinner and then they had watched TV and gone to bed. Jennifer, who is nine months pregnant with her third child, says that she has been having trouble sleeping the last few weeks, and the night of November 18th

was no different. She got up to go check on her sons. They shared a bedroom van in the house. Their television was still owned. She turned it off. She said that she slept in the bed with one of her sons. When she woke up the next morning to get the kids ready for school, she said that Donald Clark was gone.

His boots were gone, and his car was missing. She assumed that he had gone to work. It was very unusual for him to leave without saying anything to the kids. She said she takes it. Donald said that she had dropped the kids off at the bus. She received a text back. OK.

Jennifer tells police there is only one thing that would have pulled Donald away from his family. She said Donald was seeing other people. This possibility could run off with a woman or, you know, it was just deciding if he had enough and left. I got the impression that law enforcement just thought he was gone. I knew something had happened.

Donald wasn't one to take off. thought he was gone, and knew something had happened. Donald wasn't one to take off. Coming up, investigators questioned if this seemingly devoted family man had decided to start over with someone new. There was just no trace of Donald's period. But detective soon fear something much more sinister has happened to Donald.

On his bank account and on his cell phone, activity stopped almost immediately upon his disappearance. On November 21, 2008, two days after 41-year-old Donald Clark was reported missing, with the help of his ex-wife, Jennifer, detectives are attempting to piece together the moments leading up to his disappearance. Jennifer said that, for missing his car, his cell phone, his wallet, and his boots.

They describe the vehicle, They have the tag number. And they put out all points both in on it and on him. When detectives ask Jennifer why she thinks it's possible Donald could be with another woman, she admits the couple's 11-year-long relationship hasn't always been easy. Jennifer and Donald were divorced at the time of the disappearance. a seven-year-long relationship hasn't always been easy. Jennifer and Donald were divorced at the time of the disappearance.

Jennifer Clark and Donald began talking again and decided they were going to wrecking style. Jennifer says that when she moved back into Donald's house, it was clear that Donald hadn't been alone during their seven-month-long separation. There was some makeup or something that was found left at the house that didn't belong to Jennifer and Jennifer Fount. And she had claimed that this was Donald's girlfriend.

According to Jennifer, Donald said the makeup belonged to a babysitter named Danielle who briefly lived at the house. Danielle helped Donald with the kids. There were some allegations that they were involved, that her and Donald were involved in some kind of relationship together. After hearing Jennifer's suspicions, detectives checked the Clark family's bank accounts for any activity from Donald. We looked through Donald's bank accounts for any activity from Donald. We looked through Donald's bank records

and we did search warrants on his bank account and on a cell phone and the activity stopped almost immediately upon his disappearance. There was no record of him making any financial transactions using his bank card. There was just no trace of Donald's period. Detectives know they need to track down Danielle. But first, at Jennifer's suggestion,

they reach out to Donald's boss, Todd May. Todd tells police that he was supposed to pick up Donald for work on the morning of November 19th. The supervisor went to pick Donald up and was approximately 15 minutes late. Todd says that when he pulled into Donald's driveway, Donald's black Honda Civic wasn't there. He thought that Donald may have just left him,

and when he got to work and Donald was not there, he became concerned. His supervisor at work advised us that Donald was a very loyal employee and, you know, very seldom did he ever miss work and that if he was going to be out, he was certainly the type that would call. According to Todd, he last saw Donald on the evening of November 18th as the co-workers carpooled home from work. That's when Donald confided in Todd that his reconciliation with Jennifer wasn't going well.

The night before Donald Clark was determined to be missing, Donald Clark had a conversation about asking Jennifer Clark to leave the house. Todd claims Donald was ready to make his divorce permanent. I think my dad really tried to make it work, but things were never going to be what they were. They were never going to be the same, and he realized that. Life's too short to be unhappy.

And he said that he was going to. He was going to tell her to leave. Todd says as soon as Jennifer was out of the house, Donald planned to reach out to his old girlfriend, Danielle Young. He was going to try to make it work with Danielle. Investigators work quickly to track down Danielle, but when they knock on her door, it's obvious that Donald isn't with her.

Danielle was very upset about Donald being missing. Danielle was very upset about Donald being missing. Danielle was also pregnant. According to Danielle, she met Donald at the end of March 2008. Danielle was a woman my dad met when Jenny first left, I guess he was sad, really depressed. When it was not his time to have the boys, he would go to the bar, and he met Danielle at a bar. They were friends for a couple of weeks,

and Donald asked her to move in with him in order to take care of Donald's children. After Danielle moved into Donald's house, they began a sexual affair. She made him happy. She made him, I guess, go back to younger days. He would go out again. He had fun. She made him happy. She made him, I guess, go back to younger days. He would go out again. He had fun.

24-year-old Danielle explains that even though they seemed like a perfect match, she was worried about the 17-year age gap between them. Danielle was afraid that she was too young for Donald, so she left and moved back in with her mother. After that, Donald had decided he would try to make it work with Jeannie. Danielle says she was stunned when Donald called her out of the blue on the evening of November 18th. The night before Donald went missing, she had a conversation with him about moving back. He was planning on asking Jeannie to leave.

In the end, he had decided Danielle was who he wanted to be with. Danielle claims she had warned Donald that she had dated after their split and was now pregnant with another man's child. It was determined that it was not Donald's child, but Donald still wanted Danielle to come back to the house and live with him. She was worried about him so much, and she was very cooperative.

It appeared that she had nothing to do with it. So Danielle was ruled out as a suspect. Detectives want to circle back to Jennifer for more leads, but for now, they'll have to wait. On November 25, 2008, she gives birth to a son. But detectives are stunned when the subsequent newspaper announcement lists the child's last name as Yost, not Clark. She had baby, but this one wasn't Donald, because I could tell just by looking at it.

Coming up, detectives uncover a potential motive. The baby come out of a product of an affair. She said that people would kill to have Jennifer. And a search warrant casts a grisly shadow on this missing person's investigation. He sprayed the mattress and he found blood on the mattress. You hope he's alive, but at the same point you have to start working. Of course, the direction that he may have a murder. Hey, listener. It is Jason Bateman. We've been fortunate to attract so many a list guests

to our Smartless podcast, but we've never put together a line up quite like this. I'm talking about Will Ferrell, Conan O'Brien, Kevin Hart, Mark Cuban, Jimmy Kimmel, Matt Damon, and more available four weeks early and ad free on Wondery Plus. If you've seen our docu series, Smartless on the road, you know we had an incredible time on our tour where we recorded 10 amazing interviews. Sean. This is Sean Heiss.

Not only are these some of the best episodes that we've ever recorded, but the atmosphere with the live crowd is unlike anything we've released before. It was incredible to engage with an audience of thousands of our biggest fans as we traveled all over the country from Brooklyn to Los Angeles. You can listen to these episodes four weeks early and add free with 1-3 plus, find 1-3 plus in the 1-3 app or on Apple podcasts. And this is Will Arnett, I'm telling you, you really should listen. Do it, do it, do it.

As the search continues for missing father Donald Clark, detectives discover that his ex-wife, Jennifer Clark, has given birth to another man's child. While Jennifer recovers, detectives reach out to Donald's sister, Brenda Maddox, to learn more about her brother's marriage. Jennifer, I'm sorry, having a lot of affairs on Donnell. The baby come out of a product of an affair between Jennifer and Michael. Donnell kept taking her back over and over and over. He still loved her. He felt like some of it was his fault.

And then the new affair with Michael Yos to come out. Michael Yost was the son of my dad's best friend, Charlie. Charlie lived a few houses down from my dad on the opposite side of the road. I think Michael went to school through the eighth grade and he dropped out. He had a couple of marijuana arrests. So he had come home from jail and you couldn't stay with his daddy and his stepmom. So Charlie had asked Donald, if Michael could stay with them, and Donald said yes. Brenda says that Donald's good deed didn't go unpunished.

Donald found out that they was having a affair. He made Michael leave. He didn't make genie leave at the time, but he didn't make Michael leave. According to Brenda, Donald confronted Jennifer about the affair in March eight months prior. He did say that she admitted to it. I was furious because he was good to her,

and he was good to the boys, and how dare she do something like that. That alone wants, but more than once, and you say she told him like that? They're alone once, but more than once, and you say? She told him that it was not his baby. It's Michael's baby. I think that was a spiteful thing for her, like a vindictive will.

It's not your baby anyway. I think her intentions were to move in, I leave with Michael Yose. That was what she wanted to do. I think her plans were to move off with him to West Virginia. Brenda says that's when Jennifer and Michael moved out. But a few months later, in September 2008, the couple reached out to Brenda.

Jennifer's pregnant and they had nowhere to go. And Jennifer contacted Donald Clark's sister, Brenda Maddox, and Brenda Maddox agreed to let the couple move in with her. She thought that was the best thing for her brother and the children. Brenda says that after the couple moved in with her, 22-year-old Michael talked nonstop about the future.

They were going to raise their unborn child together. Michael's plan was to get a job and to support his family. According to Brenda, while Michael was happily planning his new family, he had no idea that Jennifer and Donald were seeing each other again. Donald is willing to forgive and forget. He told her that he would take care of the baby like just like he was his. Donald loved her with everything he had and better come back.

Brenda tells police that in October 2008, Donald arrived at her house and picked up Jennifer. When Michael came home that night, Brenda says she broke the news to him. Michael found out about Jenny going back to Donald from Donald's sister. Michael called her on the phone, crying, and begging, and he had to have this baby.

MUSIC On December 4, 2008, armed with the news and he had to have this baby. On December 4, 2008, armed with the news of Donald's household drama, detectives obtained a warrant to search the Clark home. In the master bedroom, something catches their eyes. The walls seemed very clean and pristine, but when you looked at the corners of the bedrooms, there was a lot of dust. The headboard and the bed had no dust. It was very unusual looking. They shown a light on the wall directly behind the bed, and you could see that the wall directly behind the bed had been freshly clean. There were white marks on it.

and freshly cleaned. There were white marks on it. The odd cleaning job believes investigators questioning why just one wall had been wiped down. I then contacted essay Todd Crosby, who was our crime scene specialist and asked if he would please come process the scene. essay Crosby used several different chemicals

to do testing on the walls of the room. He sprayed the mattress and he found blood on the mattress. The presence of blood completely changes the missing person's investigation. Whatever had happened began in that bedroom at Donald Clark's house. You hope you'd survive, but at the same point, you have to start working towards the direction that he possibly could not be alive

and that you may have a murder. Once she is well enough to be interviewed, detectives question Jennifer again on December 8, 2008. Jennifer says her newborn son is Michael's, but admits she realized the relationship was a mistake when they made it to West Virginia. I never liked Michael from the first time I met him. I called her and I told her, I says, here's the deal.

I said, you're my daughter and I love you. I said, but right now you're being stupid. Cheer choice, but don't call me when it doesn't go right. She thought she was going to run off with Michael and they were gonna live happily ever after. And it just wasn't working out. They went to West Virginia and stayed with Jennifer's mother. She lived in a place that was economically deprived.

It was a terrible life. They couldn't do anything, didn't have anything, and she kept remembering she had a nice house and two sons that she loved and a husband, an ex-husband, but a man who really cared for her. Jennifer says she ultimately decided to move back to Georgia, where she ended up rekindling her relationship with Donald. Everything was headed back towards normal. I was glad because I knew the boys

would have their mom with them. When she was asked about the blood, she stated that that was life with boys and that would be blood all over the place because she had boys. She also stated that she cleaned all the time so that she could stay on top of her cleaning chores. Jennifer Clark's story was not very believable to us. After wrapping up with Jennifer, detective speak to Jennifer's eight and ten-year-old sons. Both boys confirmed that their mother slept in their room that night, but the oldest boy

recalls something unusual. He heard running in the house in the middle of the night. He got up to check on it, and the back door was unlocked. And he stated that their back door was never unlocked while they were asleep. He locked it and went back to bed. With Jennifer seemingly cleared by her sons, detectives turned their attention to Michael Yost. Michael admits to the affair,

but claims that Jennifer was the instigator. He was a 22-year-old boy, and she seduced him basically. And, you know, he was quite willing to be seduced this older woman who taught him a lot. When detectives ask him if he had anything to do with Donald's disappearance, Michael staunchly denies it. He said Donald, he was just a super nice guy. Donald trusted him, and Donald liked him.

He was never really as upset with Michael as he was with Jenny for cheating on him. Michael Yose was pretty believable, but I still think that Michael Yose had done something with Donald Clark. Coming on, investigators on Earth, a previous attempt at Donald's life. I think she just regretted not doing it,

not killing him at the beginning. And a heinous crime shocks even the most seasoned investigators. He just sort of was overwhelmed by the whole thing. It was an ugly mess. It was sickening. is a sickling. MUSIC After uncovering an affair between 22-year-old Michael Yost and 29-year-old Jennifer Clark, detectives take a closer look into Donald and Jennifer's turbulent marriage. What they discover is that nine months earlier, Donald had made a serious allegation against his wife

during their divorce hearings. Donald Clark testified in a magic court hearing that he woke up with a sheet thrown over his head and Jennifer Clark standing at the end of the bed with a baseball bat. I was in shock when he told me that she did that. What went through her mind when she did that? I was just stunned.

According to records, the incident took place in March 2008 after Jennifer's affair with Michael Yost had been revealed and the couple was discussing divorce. She said that she just was sleeping with the baseball bat and she didn't hold it over him and she didn't cover his head with a sheet. At the time, Donald didn't buy her story and immediately called the police.

They came out. He had a conversation with the law enforcement. He determined that he didn't conversation with the law enforcement. He determined that he didn't want to have her charged. He didn't want her arrested. He didn't want his boys to see their mother in handcuffs. He just wanted her to leave. He filed for the boards the next day after this event.

The incident with the bat in Jennifer Clark standing standing over Donald Clark, played heavily into our theory that Donald Clark had not disappeared, was actually missing and probably dead. On December 23, 2008, over a month since Donald went missing, detectives get a phone call from a man on the other side of the county. His dog was chewing on an item in his yard and that it looked odd then, so he walked over

and see what his dog was chewing, and it was an individual's wallet. And in that wallet contained Donald's ID. Once Sheriff's deputies and GBI agents went out to the scene, we took possession of a wallet, several forms of identification, and began a search of the area. That's when detectives realize that although the wallet is nowhere near Donald's house, it is close to someone else's.

This house was also a short distance from Michael Yoes' mother's residence. We start searching the sides of the roadway and just looking for other signs of Donald Clark. There was a large cut zoo patch in one area on the side of the road. We walked that, and while walking in this kudzu patch, a aluminum baseball bat was found.

We already knew that Jenny had threatened Donald with a baseball bat, so finding the bat, we knew that potentially we had found the murder weapon. On Christmas Eve 2008, all available investigators descend on the area. State Patrol actually flew looking for a body and then they were just ground and vehicle searches constantly looking for Donald Clark. We were driving into the property adjacent to Michael Yostes mother's house and while we were pulling in there the former sheriff saw an item in the bushes that just made him stop. We got out and approached it, and we could see a camouflage blanket.

And as we got closer, you could see human toes sticking out at the end of it. Now, 36 days since Donald's disappearance, CSI arrive on the scene to inspect the body. Based on Donald's distinctive tattoos, agents immediately know they have found their victim. He'd been in the woods a month or more. He had a plastic bag over his head.

Of course, his head was just battered. That was a clear indication that not only was he hit with a blunt object very hard, he was hit multiple times. It was an ugly mess, it was. When Donald Clark was found, he was still in his pajamas. Jennifer Clark said that Donald got up and went to work and left with his work clothes on. When we found Donald Clark and his pajamas,

we knew that Jennifer's story could not be the case. As soon as we found the body, we sent patrols to our other deputy to go take Jennifer Clark and Michael Yoast in the custody. In separate interrogation rooms, detectives confront Jennifer and Michael with the evidence. Jennifer cracks first. She said Michael didn't want another man raising his child. That was the issue that she raised as his motive.

Jennifer said that Michael Yost wanted Jennifer all for himself and that Michael would kill to have Jennifer. Jennifer tells the police that she was sleeping with Donald on November 18th when she heard the back door open. She said that Michael came into the room and woke her up. She was terrified of Michael, and her number one concern was her children were right there in the house. Jennifer says she rushed to her son's bedroom just in time

to hear a grisly sound. She said she heard the sound of Michael Yost beating Donald's head in with the ball bat. Jennifer tells investigators when Michael emerged, he made her help him move Donald's body. They wrapped his head with two plastic bags to kind of contrainting the mess before they tried to move him. They took him out and put him in the truck to the car. She kept saying that she was intimidated by yoast, afraid

of yoast, afraid that her children might not be safe. And so she had to cooperate with yoast to get him out of the house. After Michael drove off, Jennifer says she checked on her sleeping kids and then got to work. She cleaned, she had to do everything as quietly as possible to not wake the children. She says that maybe she should have called the cops after it happened, but she still adamantly maintains that she's not the one that swung back.

Down the hall, Michael finally gives in, too. But his story isn't anything like Jennifer's. He claims that although Jennifer went back to Donald, they were still having regular trists up until the night of November 18, 2008. Jennifer Clark called him approximately 1 a.m. and asked him to come to the house. He waited for Jennifer Clark to flash the lights at the residence,

which was previously discussed. Michael would go inside the house when the lights were flashed. Michael says that once he was inside the house, he realized this was no ordinary hookup. Donald was still home and asleep in the couple's bed. He heard Jenny open a closet and get the bed. Michael, yo's story is a Jennifer Clark, then hits Donald Clark in the head with baseball bat.

He just sort of was overwhelmed by the whole thing. He was sickening. Michael recalled that Donald made gurgling noises, at which time he heard Jennifer hit Donald Clark approximately two more times. She came up to him, and she kneeled down on the floor Jennifer hit Donald Clark approximately two more times. She came up to him and she kneeled down on the floor right in front of him so that she looked up into his face and she asked him to help her.

Michael said that he dumped the body and then went down this road called Potspond Road, throwing out the boots in the back in the wallet. Michael Yose then leaves the car at a hotel. Michael also says that he uses Donald Clark's phone to respond to a text that Jennifer Clark sent to him. I think they turned on each other because they knew somebody was going to jail,

and neither one of them wanted to be the one to go. Coming up, whose story will the jury believe? How could somebody who's not much pregnant swing a baseball bat? The only person that could tell what happened that night was her and Michael. I wanted to stand up and say, stop your lion until these these people the truth. [♪ Music playing, music playing, music playing, music playing, music playing, music playing, music playing, music playing, music playing, music playing, music playing, music playing, music playing, music playing, music playing, music playing, music playing, music playing, music playing, music playing, music playing, music playing, music playing, music playing, music playing, music playing, music playing, music playing, music playing, music playing, music playing, music playing, music playing, music playing, music playing, music playing, music playing, music playing, music playing, music playing, music playing, music playing, music playing, music playing, music playing, music playing, music playing, music playing, music playing, music playing, music playing, music playing, music playing, music playing, music playing, music playing, music playing, music playing, music playing, music playing, music playing, music playing, music playing, music playing, music playing, music playing, music playing, music playing, music playing, music playing, music playing, music playing, music playing, music playing, music playing, music playing, music playing, music playing, music playing, music playing, music playing, music playing, music playing, music playing, music playing, music playing, music playing, music playing, music playing, music playing, music playing, music playing, music playing, music playing, music playing, music playing, music playing, music playing, music playing, music playing, music playing, music playing, music playing, music playing, music playing, music playing, music playing, music playing, music playing, music playing, music playing, music playing, music playing, music playing, music playing, music playing, music playing, music playing, music playing, music playing, music playing, music playing, music playing, music playing, music playing, music playing, music playing, music playing, music playing, music playing, music playing, music playing, music playing, music playing, music playing, music playing, music playing, music Jennifer Clark and her boyfriend, Michael Yost, have two very different stories about what happened

the night her husband, Donald Clark, died. Both of them were involved. At this point, it becomes irrelevant who actually hit. Donald would be bad. They formulated a plan together. They both conspired to kill him. Jennifer and Michael are placed under arrest, and both continue to stick to their conflicting stories

while they await trial. However, with their court dates finally approaching, in the fall of 2009, Michael has a sudden change of heart. My opinion was that Michael Yose had been manipulated by her. So I talked to his lawyer, and I said, you know, this is a case where if he were plead guilty, he would get life imprisonment, and he agreed fairly quickly. On January 31, 2011, 32-year-old Jennifer Lee Clark

enters the Butts County courtroom facing life in prison for murder. In opening statements, prosecutors alleged that Jennifer felt her comfortable life slipping away. I believe that Jennifer Clark wanted to have the house, the kids, and her boyfriend, Michael Yeost, and the only way to do that was to get rid of Donald Clark. Everything in her life had been taken away from her. And she was pregnant. A mother about to have a child is warning security,

warning stability, warning stability, warning to establish her life. Prosecutors say that Jennifer tried to get back to the life she loved. She kept trying to worm her way back into his good graces. Donald was not committing to her in any regard. She was just someone there keeping the children. Donald had moved on in his romantic life.

I'm pretty sure that she knew that Donald was about the end of the relationship. I'm not sure that Donald knew the danger that he was in. I definitely think that she did the same thing she did to him the night that he was in. I definitely think that she did the same thing. She did to him the night that he woke up. She said I have him more of the baseball bat, and this time she had the courage to swing it. You know, it's almost unimaginable to me

that somebody can be that prey, but that's just hate. Prosecutors believe that she then called her boy for the murder of the murder. I mean, it's just, that's just hate. Prosecutors believe that she then called her boyfriend, Michael Yost, to help clean up the mess. That's where Michael came in. His drawing back was the way she got out of there,

and he left with the body in the Honda Civic. Michael testified, and he admitted to taking him out, putting him in the car, and going away with him. Defense attorneys argue that Michael Yost is the true mastermind. And on February 3, 2011, Jennifer takes the stand in her own defense. Jennifer had to testify. There was nobody else that could speak for her.

The only person that could tell what happened that night was her and Michael. I know that was part of their defense was that Half could somebody who's not much pregnant, swing a baseball bat. During her testimony, she was making herself somehow the victim. Here she was on trial for her life, and it was an evil boyfriend,

killing her evil husband. And she was just a poor little woman. He was nine months pregnant. I wanted to stand up and tell her to stop your lion and tell these people the truth. When prosecutors begin their cross-examination, Jennifer's carefully crafted persona starts to crack. When the question got a little bit more pointed, a little more

heated, then you can see flashes of anger. She had an outburst. She jumped up and said that the only good thing about Michael Yose was what was between his legs. Screamed it in the middle of court. The same kind of emotion that she was having, the anger she was having, was she was beating him in the head with the aluminum baseball bat.

That's all that Jerry needed to know, really. On February 4, 2011, after less than an hour of deliberation, the jury returns with a verdict. They found her guilty. She held her head down. I think that was the worst part, the judge's holder that now you can't see your kids. We all smiled, everyone hugged each other.

We hugged the DA. It was an air of celebration without actually, you know, jumping up and down and celebrating in court. I was happy. It just overwhelmed and happy, all of you know, that it was finally over, that they got justice. He got justice. The judge sentenced his Jennifer to life in prison, plus 60 years. The judge gave her the maximum penalty, and he made them back-to-back-to-back-to-back. Those close to Donald hope that his story will serve

as a warning to others. I think that's what you run into with men most of the time is that they don't want to admit that they're a victim of abuse. It's always haunted me a little bit. Was there more that could have been done to protect him? And after this, I always tell men and women the story about Donald.

I tell him, you need to get out of the house because you never know what somebody is capable of. The term that it gets better with time is not true. You tend to live your life a little easier maybe, but you still think about him every day. But we still get up and go home because that's what he would want us today. Donald and Jennifer's sons were raised by Brando Maddox. Jennifer and Michael's son was adopted by a local family. Michael is serving his life sentence at Smith State Prison in Glenville, Georgia.