Clark shown in a family handout photo.
A 19-year-old college student disappeared on May 4 after trying to sell his car on Craigslist. Two days later he was found murdered. Taylor Clark was last heard from when he spoke to his girlfriend at 10:30 a.m. on May 4. He was headed to an outlet mall in Hazelwood, Missouri, to meet a person who contacted him on Craigslist. Clark was never heard from him again.
Here’s what you need to know:
1. Police Have a Arrested a Suspect
The scene after Clark’s body was found. (Screengrab via KMOV)
Fox St. Louis reports that a suspect has been taken into custody in relation to the crime. That person was arrested later on May 6, the same day Clark’s body was found. In a statement to the media announcing Clark’s death, Captain Tim Fagan of the Florrissant Police Department said that investigators have “a clear understanding about how it is that he died.” Fagan said that Clark had been a victim of homicide. He was shot.
2. He Was an Engineering Student
(Handout)
Clark was an engineering student at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. The school’s chancellor, Julie Furst-Bowe, said in a statement:
Our hearts and minds are with Taylor Clark’s family and friends as they cope with this tragic loss. At a time of the year when the new spring season brings the promise of brighter days ahead, and commencement provides unending potential for so many of our students, it is truly sad that Taylor had his bright future taken away. He will be missed by all of those who he encountered on our campus.
KSDK reports that Clark’s friends had organized an impromptu memorial for him at ZX Gas Troy in Troy, Illinois, on the night of May 6.
3. Clark ‘Loved Watching People Stare at His Car’
(Twitter)
According to his Twitter page, Clark wanted to sell his car so that he could buy a GTO. On April 1, he tweeted “I want a GTO, someone buy my car.” In his last tweet, on April 6, he wrote “Love watching people stare at my car as they walk by.”
4. There’s Been an Outpouring of Emotion on Twitter
News of his death brought an outpouring of emotion from friends and other college students on Twitter.
Students at SIU-E honoring the memory Taylor Clark and mourning the loss of their fellow student. http://t.co/oB2o2SyEZx
RIP Taylor Clark….best to his family and friends…a life taken for no reason
5. The Case Is Eerily Similar to Other ‘Craigslist Killings’
Jay Towns. (Telfair County Sheriff’s Office)
The Taylor Clark case is eerily similar to the killing of Bud and June Runion in Georgia in January 2015. A man who responded to the Craiglist ad posted by a missing elderly couple has been arrested in relation to their disappearance. Ronnie “Jay” Towns is in custody in Georgia in relation to the mysterious case of Bud and June Runion. The couple, 69 and 66 respectively, were last seen on January 22 after driving to McRae, Georgia, in an attempt to buy a 1966 Ford Mustang. Just hours after his arrest on January 26, authorities found the bodies of Bud and June Runion. In his statement announcing Taylor Clark’s death, Captain Fagan reminded the public to be careful when buying things on Craigslist.