It is a little-known affair, which nevertheless agitated the State of Maryland in the United States. Hadden Clark, a relatively little-known serial killer, will be the subject of a documentary series directed by Michael Bay and broadcast from September 3 on the Max platform and on ID every Sunday from October 13 at 9:00 p.m. with 1 episode every week.
“Hadden Clark: the assassin who spoke to Jesus” is the first documentary series from director Michael Bay, known for his blockbusters such as Bad Boys, Armageddon, Pearl Harbor and Transformers. In this new format, Bay is interested in Hadden Clark, a little-known serial killer, whose story is nevertheless chilling. Through five episodes, the series will retrace the hidden side of the killer and the underside of his unstable and dysfunctional family. She also reveals the latter’s shattering confession to his fellow inmate. These confessions encourage investigators to reopen numerous so-called “cold case” cases. For them, Hadden would be the author of 12 to 22 murders. This documentary series will appear on Max for three evenings starting Tuesday, September 3 (3 episodes at launch and 1 episode on September 4 and 5).
1 – A childhood marked by abuse
The documentary series not only chronicles the crimes of Hadden Clark; she also explores the origins of his deviant behavior. The Clark family, portrayed as unstable and dysfunctional, is a central element of the story. Hadden’s childhood, marked by violence and abuseis presented as a breeding ground for the hatred and psychopathy that would later define his adult life. His parents’ alcoholism will leave indelible consequences.
These traumas were quickly felt in Hayden’s actions. He showed sadistic tendencies from a young age, loving to torture animals and brutalize other children. For psychologists, these childhood trauma shaped the killer he became. Testimonies from those who knew the Clark family, as well as Hadden’s own accounts, paint a chilling picture of the lasting impact of this abuse on his psyche. The series does not seek to excuse his crimes, but to contextualize them in a family setting where violence seems to be the norm.
2 – The killer who dressed as a woman
Throughout this difficult childhood, Hadden was seen as an outsider by other children. He was having fun torture animals to scare the other children. An important event will mark the rest of his life. Her mother made no secret of the fact that she would have preferred to have a daughter. When she was drunk, she would dress Hadden in girl’s clothes and call him Kirsten. Growing up, Hadden dressed more and more often as a woman. He joined the army at age 31 and continued to wear women’s clothing. He will be the target of mockery and a beating causing him head trauma. Passing through the infirmary, he is diagnosed schizophrenic.
Later, he enters a church to steal women’s coats and handbags, all dressed as a woman. During the investigation into the disappearance of Laura Houghteling, Hadden was quickly suspected and eventually found guilty. He will take investigators to the place where he buried the young woman. They think he entered the house when Laura was sleeping. After stabbing him several times and strangling him, he leaves the corpse of his victim, dressed as a woman. Not lacking in cheek, he walked around town around the Houghteling house dressed in Laura’s clothes while wearing a wig resembling the victim’s haircut.
Also read: Serial killer: 5 very feared operating methods | VL Media (vl-media.fr)
Once the murders of Michelle Dorr and Laura Houghteling were confessed, Hadden Clark said he wanted to show investigators something that could be other bodies. Only he has one request. He asks that the police buy him a wig, a women’s blouse and women’s underwear. It is in this outfit that Hadden Clark will lead investigators into the dunes of Wellfleet in search of the bodies.
3 – A predator with a grudge
Hadden Park was convicted of two murders, that of Michelle Dorr and Laura Houghteling. In both cases, investigators attributed the killings to Hadden’s mental problems.
In 1986, Hadden Clark went to live with his brother Jeff in Silver Spring, Maryland. The disappearance of little Michelle Dorr puts the neighborhood on alert and very quickly Hadden becomes the main suspect. He is arrested and questioned by investigators. He denies the facts but the investigators’ questions provoke physical reactions in him, he even goes so far as to develop diarrhea. Ultimately, the man is found guilty of the murder of the little girl whom he says he brutally murdered. The reasons are unclear since he didn’t really have any. His brother, Jeff, had asked him a few hours earlier to leave his home because of his frightening behavior. Investigators believe that Hadden, frustrated by his brother’s rejection, wanted to express your anger on the first person to come.
In the case of Laura Houghteling, the jealousy invades Hadden towards the latter. Indeed, Hadden had found refuge with Penny Houghteling who took a liking to the man. She then hires him as a gardener and will eventually even entrust him with the keys to her house. A mother-son relationship then develops between them. For the first time Hadden Clark seems to have found stability. But in 1992, this stability disappeared when Laura, Penny’s daughter, returned to live with her mother. Hadden sees her as an enemy to the special relationship he had with Penny. In October 1992, Laura disappeared and her kidnapper was none other than Hadden Clark who killed her in cold blood.
4 – Its close link with religion
The documentary on the Hadden Clark affair is called “Hadden Clark: the assassin who spoke to Jesus”and this is no coincidence. At the beginning of 1992, through a religious association in his Bethesda neighborhood, he met a benefactress named Penny Houghteling. A rather innocuous encounter since he will kill the latter’s daughter, Laura Houghteling, out of jealousy.
During interrogations, Hadden made references to Jesus and recited passages from the Bible. In prison, he even made drawings of little girls with messages in coded language and references to the Bible.
5 – A family of cannibals
In the Clark family, Hadden’s older brother, Bradfield Clarkis known to the police. He murdered a young girl and gave himself to cannibalistic acts on the latter. While still very young, Hadden was marked by this event.
Given the state in which he left Michelle Dorr’s body, investigators wondered if he did not want reproduce the actions of his brother. Indeed, Hadden drank the little girl’s blood and engaged in other acts of cannibalism. This act could result from an imitation pattern like we are used to seeing in siblings. Often the youngest will tend to copy the oldest, who appears as an example.
This affair, little known to the general public, is taken up by Michael Bay to retrace the journey of Hayden Clark. She also recounts the many unsolved cases following the confessions obtained from her cell. The documentary series provides access to previously unpublished interviews with those around him, such as that of Geoff Clarkthe brother ofHaddenbut above all the disturbing story of Jack Truittthe ex-cellmate of Hadden whom he took to be “Jesus”, considering him his savior.
