Shivangi Sinha
When Laura Houghteling failed to show up at her office in October 1992, her boss became concerned. This was out of character for Laura, who was known for her diligence. Her boss, who also knew her as her daughter’s friend, sensed something was wrong. As people began searching for her, it became increasingly alarming that there was no trace of Laura. Months went by, and it became evident that the 23-year-old woman had met with foul play and would not be returning. Investigation Discovery’s ‘Born Evil: The Serial Killer and the Savior’ delves into the circumstances of her death and how her killer was eventually identified.
Laura Houghteling Went Missing Months After Her Graduation
Laura Houghteling was born on April 8, 1969, to Penelope Swaney “Penny” Bouknight Houghteling and Frederic Delano Houghteling. She grew up with her older brother, Warren Houghteling, leading a relatively everyday life in Bethesda, Maryland. Laura attended the National Cathedral School, and despite the challenges when her parents divorced in 1977, the family managed to navigate the difficult period. However, the most devastating blow in Laura’s life occurred in 1986 when she discovered that her father had taken his own life.
Despite her hardships, Laura Houghteling remained determined to pursue her dreams. She was an exceptionally bright young woman with aspirations of achieving something extraordinary. After graduating from the National Cathedral School in 1987, Laura attended Harvard University, where her college years unfolded just as she had envisioned. Upon graduating in 1992, she began her career at Holman Communications, a PR firm, feeling inspired and ready to make her mark. Laura had recently moved in with her mother, and it was only a month into this new chapter of her life when she suddenly went missing.
On the morning of October 19, 1992, Laura Houghteling’s boss, concerned about her absence, asked her daughter to check on Laura at her home. The worry stemmed from that Laura’s mother, Penny, had been away in North Carolina attending a Journey Into Wholeness conference since October 17, leaving Laura to walk to the metro alone. As friends and family were alerted, a search began. Phone records indicated that Laura had last used her phone around 10:30 pm on October 18. On June 15, 1993, Laura’s body was discovered buried in a shallow grave across I-270 in the Bethesda-Rockville area. She had been stabbed, and the cause of death was determined to be strangulation.
Laura’s Killer Had Been a Suspect in a 6-year-old Girl’s Murder
When Laura was first reported missing, there was little information. Initially, even her mother suggested that Laura might have taken some time away to focus on her mental health and would return soon. However, during the police investigation into who had access to the house, they uncovered something significant. Hadden Clark, a homeless man who occasionally worked as a gardener for Penny, had been known to enter the toolshed where the house key was kept. Clark had previously been a suspect in the 1986 murder of 6-year-old Michele Dorr, so the police brought him in for questioning.
Warren also informed the police that the night he came to the house searching for his sister, he had seen Clark driving down the road. Warren tried to flag Clark down to ask him questions, but Clark had quickly accelerated, made a U-turn, and sped away. Although the police initially had no physical evidence linking Clark to the crime, he was released after a preliminary interrogation. However, the situation changed on October 23, 1992. During the ongoing search, police discovered a pillowcase in the woods near Penny’s home. The pillowcase had blood spots and a fingerprint that could be lifted. Additionally, a luminol test conducted on the mattress revealed significant traces of blood, leading the police to conclude that the murder had likely occurred on the bed.
A Bloody Fingerprint Led the Police to Laura’s Killer
On October 29, a neighbor contacted the police and reported that their domestic help had seen someone standing outside the house with a toddler, waiting for the latter’s school bus when she observed Laura passing by. The domestic help noted that she had regularly seen the mother and daughter leaving the house together at the same time each day, so she was surprised to see only Laura, who was wearing slacks and had her blonde hair down. This sighting did not match the timeline the police had developed, and even Penny remarked that her tall daughter avoided wearing pants, so it could not have been her.
The police matched the fingerprint on the pillowcase to Clark’s and identified the blood as Laura’s. On November 6, they arrested him from his van, which was parked in the woods near the house. A forensic analysis of the truck revealed some natural and synthetic blonde hair. They also discovered a receipt for items such as duct tape, a braided rope coil, and three mason line packages, all purchased on October 14. With this evidence, the police could piece together a clearer picture of what had occurred.
Clark, aware of the house key’s location, had let himself into the home on the night of October 18. He then attacked Laura, stabbing her and subsequently suffocating her with a pillow. Afterward, he wrapped her body in a bedsheet and buried it near the spot where he parked his car. The police believed Clark was responsible for the sighting of someone in women’s clothing, as he had admitted to enjoying dressing up and wearing wigs. He had walked out of the house pretending to be Laura. His motivation for the crime seemed to stem solely from his compulsion to kill. Although he was later suspected of being a serial killer, he could only be definitively linked to the murder of Michele Dorr in 2000.
Read More: Hadden Clark: Where is the Suspected Serial Killer Now?
