HOMICIDE Mystery cloaks small-town church
Before she died, the woman accused the church of sexual and physical abuse.
ASHTABULA, Ohio (AP) -- In this tight-knit Northeast Ohio city, the death of Carolyn Clark on Mother's Day weekend was story enough: Police said her estranged husband beat her head with the stock of a rifle in front of the youngest five of their 13 children.
But then talk intensified as news spread about legal papers Carolyn Clark had filed in a custody dispute she won a few days before her death, accusing leaders of the couple's church of sexual and physical abuse against members, including children. Clark said she was trying to get her young children away from the church, which she accused of brainwashing her husband and older children.
Now prosecutors are investigating whether the Apostolic Church Body of Jesus Christ of the Newborn Assembly had any role in her death. Social service officials are looking into the abuse allegations.
"This murder happened, and it might have kicked over a rock and there's some sunlight shining down now," Ashtabula County Prosecutor Thomas L. Sartini said.
No charges have been filed against leaders of the country church.
Its bishop, Charles Keyes, has repeatedly declined to comment.
Clark's five adult children told The Star Beacon the church had nothing to do with her death. They said their mother had been abusive, beating them, burning them with a clothes iron and forcing them to eat vomit as punishment.
Small town
The small, white, wood-frame church sits on a grassy lot amid a scattering of trees and modest homes, near a well-traveled country road in Jefferson Township. The small community is just south of Ashtabula.
The mystery has captured the attention of residents.
"I do hear a lot of stuff, but here it's the headline news and the big topic and it's like everybody is wondering what's next," said Betty Holman, owner of Betty's Beauty Shop, where Carolyn Clark was a customer.
Ashtabula County Children Services is investigating the accusations of abuse at the church. "Since Carolyn Clark's death there have been more people come forward. People still aren't as forthcoming as you would hope," said investigator Mike Rose.
Past and current members, including those recently at the church doing groundskeeping, cleaning and other chores, refused to speak to an Associated Press reporter, and Clark's older children no longer speak to the media. Music-filled services have been closed to most outsiders.
The mystery began May 7, when Carolyn Clark, 43, was killed in a house where she was staying with her youngest children. Her estranged husband, Ralph Clark, 43, has pleaded innocent to a charge of aggravated murder and remains jailed. His attorney, Hobart Shiflet, did not return messages seeking comment.
"We may never know what went through his head that night," Terrance Clark told The Star Beacon about his father.
Custody battle
News broke a few days later about Carolyn Clark's court statement, filed six weeks earlier. The statement tells this story:
She and her family had been devoted members of the congregation. But she grew angry with the church, blaming it for her family problems and alleging she was forced to have sex with Bishop Keyes and was beaten by church members with a belt.
The statement also said that during an argument Oct. 6, when Ralph Clark disregarded her claim of sexual abuse, Carolyn Clark threw ceramic figurines and a plastic foam plate with food at him.
Ralph Clark filed domestic violence charges and later filed for divorce to end their 22-year marriage, winning custody at first.
A juvenile court judge who gave custody to Carolyn Clark based the decision in part on the statement.
Concerned
Sheryl Cerni, who knew Carolyn Clark for eight years, said she last spoke with her friend by telephone the day before she died. She said Clark was worried about her husband but Carolyn Clark was a dedicated mother.
Keyes' aunt, Ora Tyus, 78, said her nephew broke ranks three years ago with a general assembly of apostolic churches, based in Franklin, Va., when he insisted on being named a bishop and was rejected.
A telephone number for the assembly's headquarters church consistently went unanswered.