Autopsy: Woman was suffocated

Preliminary autopsy results in the death of Susan Kay Clark revealed that she was suffocated, Ector County Sheriff Mark Donaldson said Monday.

Investigators found the 59-year-old West Odessa woman, known by family and friends as “Nanny,” early Friday morning, wrapped in a bed sheet and lying on her back on the floor of her home’s master bathroom at 3547 N. Ferguson Ave. A cross and a sword were placed atop the body, according to a probable cause statement.

That same PC statement also states that Clark’s husband, Jan David Clark, told investigators that his wife was possessed and that he held her face to the floor of their bathroom to rid her of the demon. He said the demon then entered his body and caused him to kill her.

Clark, 60, remained Monday in the Ector County Detention Center on a $300,000 bond after being charged in connection with the death.

Detention Center records showed that the suspect had not hired an attorney Monday afternoon, but he did request a court-appointed attorney through Justice of the Peace Eddy Spivey.

Donaldson said an FBI agent, informed by friends of Jan David Clark, contacted the Sheriff’s Office about the woman’s death about 4:30 a.m. Friday.

Jan David Clark answered his home’s door to sheriff’s office investigators shortly after that and was coherent and cooperative with officials, Donaldson said.

Investigators believe the slaying happened sometime between 11 p.m. Thursday and 4:30 a.m. Friday.

The complete autopsy, which normally takes about six weeks, will provide a more accurate time of death and provide more information as to how she was suffocated, Donaldson said.

“That’s yet to be determined — we know she wasn’t choked — it wasn’t that way,” he said.

Efforts to reach the Ector County Medical Examiner’s Office were not successful Monday.

Sheriff’s investigator Steven McNeill said in a notarized statement that Susan Clark’s body was also covered with a cross and a sword — a big sword, Donaldson said.

The sheriff said a mental evaluation of Jan David Clark would have to be ordered by a judge.

“You hate these, but I’m happier that the guy’s here, and we have him,” Donaldson said.