Viswa Vanapalli
NBC’s ‘Dateline: The House in the Woods’ as well as ABC’s’ 20/20: What The Little Girl Saw’ focus on the brutal murder of Kelley Clayton in September 2015. The young mother of two was beaten to death in her own home by an intruder in a murder-for-hire plot. In a shocking twist, her husband, Thomas “Tom” Clayton, hired a former employee to carry out the slaying. Michael Beard was that person and was eventually brought to justice, but not before a confession and a recantation.
Michael Beard Was a Laborer Who Agreed to a Murder for Hire Plot for $10,000
After Kelley was found murdered, authorities connected Tom to Michael through a phone call the former had placed around 40 minutes before she was discovered. The latter had previously worked at Tom’s company and at ServPro, with which Tom was also affiliated. ServPro was owned by one of Tom’s close friends. However, he was fired mere days before the fateful day because of complaints of theft from clients’ homes. The authorities believed Michael’s motivation was money since it was clear he was desperate for it at the time. Furthermore, he was facing eviction by Thomas, so it all culminated in criminal actions.
After Michael was arrested, he confessed to the murder, saying Tom offered him $10,000 to kill his wife, so he did so with a maul handle. He later recanted his statements, but through the evidence at hand, authorities were able to piece together what might have happened on that fateful fall night. Sometime before 11 pm, Tom called Michael, who soon left his home on his bike. He cycled to ServPro, got into a vehicle Tom had left parked for him earlier, and then picked up Mark Blandford, a friend. Mark later claimed to know nothing about the murder, but stated that he had heard his friend say something along the lines of “killing a b***h.” He asserted he didn’t know any details of the crime Michae was about to commit, only that he was supposed to be the lookout.
Michael and Mark stopped near the Clayton residence around midnight on September 28, 2015, with the former entering through the garage using the key Tom had given him. He then went to the bedroom where Kelley was sleeping and used a maul handle to hit her over the head twice, only for her to wake up, start struggling, and run out before falling down the stairs. Kelley then ran into the kitchen, where Michael continued to attack her until the job was done. After her death, he left, changed his clothes, and placed the bloody clothes in a gym bag. He drove back with Mark while making sure to dump the murder weapon, the gym bag, and the keys at different places. Once Mark was dropped off, Michael returned the truck to ServPro and then cycled back home along the same route. Michael later told the police where to find the previously disposed of items.
Michael Beard Remains Incarcerated in State Prison Today
During Michael’s trial, he told a different story, sticking to the claims he made during his recantation. He testified that while Tom did hire him for $10,000, it wasn’t to explicitly kill Kelley. He claimed it was to set the Clayton residence on fire for insurance money. Michael claimed that Tom told him the house would be empty, but he panicked upon seeing Kelley dead upon arriving to do his criminal job, so he left without doing anything. However, he could not explain the incriminating statements made by his lookout. The jury did not buy this narrative one bit, so on November 4, 2016, they convicted him of first-degree as well as second-degree murder.
Following his conviction, Michael was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for first-degree murder, plus concurrent terms of 25 years to life for the second-degree murder charge. He later appealed his verdict, which resulted in the lesser count against him being dismissed. Therefore, today, about 55 years old, he remains incarcerated at the maximum-security Upstate Correctional Facility in Franklin County.
Read More: Where is Kelley Clayton’s Family Now? Update
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