Who killed E.J. DeMerio Clark?
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) – E.J. Clark had a smile no one could deny. Despite the happiness that he carried across his face, he had a calm, quiet demeanor, according to his family members.
He was described as a loyal defender and his younger brother even referred to him as a father figure.
“He was tough on me. I see why he did it,” said E.J.’s brother, Aaron.
It’s been a little over three years since E.J.’s murder. On June 14, 2012, around 1:42 a.m., someone shot E.J. in the 87000 block of East 46th Street. A single bullet struck him in the stomach and while suffering from the gunshot wound. he called his mother, Tina Clark.
No one picked up and her phone went to voicemail.
“I didn’t get the voicemail until after I got back from the hospital,” said Tina.
While on the ground moaning, a Lawrence police officer spotted E.J. in the street.
When the officer approached E.J., he told the officer he had been shot by someone riding in a silver Dodge Neon. Despite his injuries, he told the officers there were four black males in the vehicle.
Detectives would not learn anymore information from E.J. He suffered internal bleeding and died at the hospital.
With a limited amount of details, detectives learned that E.J. had been in a fight three days before the shooting. There were reports that the fight may have been over a girl, and that E.J. was the victor in that fight.
Officers tracked down those involved in the scuffle, and their alibi’s checked out, according to police.
The case went cold in the days and months after E.J.’s murder, but in December 2012, E.J.’s aunt received a message from a woman through Facebook. In several paragraphs, the strange woman told the family she knew who killed E.J.
She gave a motive, the name of the man who pulled the trigger on the gun and she implied that it all started in a fight over a girl. The woman expressed she had shared her story to the police, but wanted to remain anonymous.
According to the Lawrence Police Department, detectives interviewed the woman who sent the inbox message and she did not have enough information to make an arrest.
E.J.’s family believes the woman changed her story.
His aunt keeps the message from the woman on her cellphone, while the family continues to wait for answers.
E.J.’s father, Corey Garrard, told 24-Hour News 8 that the family has raised $10,000 for information leading to the arrest of a suspect in the murder of his son.
Despite offering the cash, Garrard is not hopeful E.J. will get justice. “I don’t think it will be solved by the criminal or justice system,” said Garrard.
The Lawrence Police Department is adamant that despite not finding E.J.’s killer, the murder investigation remains open.
If you have any information in E.J.’s murder investigation, you can remain anonymous, and call Crime Stoppers at 317-262-TIPS.
