Found Deceased IL - Taylor Clark, 19, Edwardsville, 4 May 2015 *Arrest*

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steelman said:
HAZELWOOD, Mo. – The man who killed Taylor Clark murdered him on his lunch break then went back to work, police say.

Investigators confirm 24-year-old Michael Gordon is suspected of killing 19-year-old Taylor Clark after agreeing to meet up with him through Craigslist to possibly buy his car.

Clark was last seen around 10:30 a.m. Monday. His car was found around 6 p.m. in the parking lot of MTC Truck Driving School in the 12000 block of Missouri Bottom Road. His body was discovered in a wooded area not far from his car.

Police say Clark was trying to sell his car, a 2007 red Nissan, and met up with Gordon, who worked at MTC, on his lunch break.


View attachment 74386

Capt. Tim Fagan with the Florissant Police Department and commander of the Major Case Squad, says Clark was shot one time.

The Major Case Squad was activated Tuesday night, and more than 20 investigators are working the case. They said blood was found on the passenger side of the vehicle.

Gordon has been charged with first-degree murder and armed criminal action. He's being held at the St. Louis County Jail on a $1 million bond.

http://www.ksdk.com/story/news/crime/2015/05/06/taylor-clark-body-found-hazelwood/70879300/

This worked at the driving school where he was found.
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I should learn to listen to you! I thought there was no way someone could be that stupid!
 
This is horrifying! Why did he do this??

This guy deserves the harshest punishment available.

I cannot imagine the pain Taylor's family is going through right now.
 
popsicle said:
Casey Nolen KSDK ‏@CaseyNolen 3m3 minutes agoHazelwood, MO
Police say Michael Gordon met #TaylorClark over Craigslist, murdered him at lunch and went back to work. #ksdk

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CEXmSb6UMAA0emZ.jpg photo
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:eek:

Did he find lunch boring one day and decided maybe killing someone would help him fill that hour?

He didn't even take the car! Or know him! Why on earth??

Could it have been a hit? :waitasec: That could explain not knowing one another prior to the CL interaction and then it not be about taking the car. Maybe?
 
I don't understand? He was not robbed though, right? The car was still there...WHAT WAS THE PURPOSE?


I thought most Craigslist murders happened to someone bringing cash to BUY a car.
 
katydid23 said:
I don't understand? He was not robbed though, right? The car was still there...WHAT WAS THE PURPOSE?


I thought most Craigslist murders happened to someone bringing cash to BUY a car.
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It just doesn't seem like there are many possible motives in this one.

It wasn't personal. It wasn't robbery.

He deliberately sought Taylor out and had him meet him about the car, and they met in a place that he had the upper hand instead of somewhere neutral like many people do.

If he at all had robbery as a motive he'd have really screwed up by having him meet at his work because if he had left with Taylor's car his car would have been at his place of work still, which would have turned the focus on him immediately (surely the CL contacts did that anyway though).

So it seems clear that that alone had to have been thought through and so thus couldn't have ever been the motive anyway.

And it seems almost obviously planned in advance otherwise he'd never have been sure it could "fit it in" to his lunch hour.

So what does that leave?

*Thrill kill
*Hit
*Sexual assault gone wrong? (Meaning he solicited Taylor as far as feigning interest in the car, but with the intention of some sort of sexual encounter that Taylor was unaware of, and that Taylor resisted and so he killed him)

I can't think of any other scenario. What am I missing?
 
Terrible the same thing happened to June and Bob Runion in January this year. I know it is rare for this to happen it seems to be dangerous to sell on Craigslist. I wouldn't meet a buyer on my own not that it make much difference if a person intends to kill. This guy doesn't seem to be very clever did he think the police wouldn't be able to trace his communication with Taylor.

R.I.P Taylor Clark so sorry that your life was tragically cut short way too soon and thatyou never got the chance to have a long happy life.
 
Going out at lunch, casually murdering someone and then going back to work?!!

I usually just go for a walk or sit out in the sun and read my book..
 
TravelingBug said:
It just doesn't seem like there are many possible motives in this one.

It wasn't personal. It wasn't robbery.

He deliberately sought Taylor out and had him meet him about the car, and they met in a place that he had the upper hand instead of somewhere neutral like many people do.

If he at all had robbery as a motive he'd have really screwed up by having him meet at his work because if he had left with Taylor's car his car would have been at his place of work still, which would have turned the focus on him immediately (surely the CL contacts did that anyway though).

So it seems clear that that alone had to have been thought through and so thus couldn't have ever been the motive anyway.

And it seems almost obviously planned in advance otherwise he'd never have been sure it could "fit it in" to his lunch hour.

So what does that leave?

*Thrill kill
*Hit
*Sexual assault gone wrong? (Meaning he solicited Taylor as far as feigning interest in the car, but with the intention of some sort of sexual encounter that Taylor was unaware of, and that Taylor resisted and so he killed him)

I can't think of any other scenario. What am I missing?
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There's another possible motive albeit unlikely. Remember Missouri has had an interesting year. Possible "hate" crime ?
 
razzledazzle said:
Gang initiation? Gordon had to prove himself?
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good thought.........

i've been following the murder trial of officer kevin quick in virginia and that was why he was murdered.....a group of (modsnip) that is an offshoot of the bloods........he was off duty so they probably didn't even know he was an officer tbh.....these particular four had also committed other crimes too and that was their motivation, to gain entry.....

such a tragedy.....that case and this one as well :rose:
 
Gordon has been charged with first-degree murder and armed criminal action in the death of Taylor Clark, a sophomore engineering student at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.

Fagan, the deputy commander of the Major Case Squad of Greater St. Louis and lead investigator in the case, said police arrested Gordon after his name was found in emails Gordon traded with Clark about the car Clark was trying to sell. Investigators said the two did not know one another before they met.


Police say Gordon is an employee of a truck driver training center in the St. Louis suburb of Hazelwood, Mo., not far from where Clark's 2007 Nissan 350ZX and body were found Tuesday. It was not immediately clear whether Gordon has an attorney.
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http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/...d-dead-in-st-louis-suburb-20150506-story.html

You can't outrun those electronic signatures, or delete 'em.
 
Witness: Suspect drove SIUE student's car back to work after murder
Updated: May 07, 2015 10:06 AM CDT

snip
According to the probable cause statement, a witness saw Gordon get into the front passenger seat of Clark's car. After the suspect entered the car, Clark drove down to an abandoned rail spur, which has one point of access, restricting the witness' view. After several minutes, the witness saw Gordon driving the victim's car into the trucking center's parking lot. Gordon then exited the vehicle and returned to work, police said.
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"Authorities said they are still searching for Gordon's car, a maroon 1990 BMW 325i with Missouri License Plate FL3Z9K."

Here are some images of the car they're looking for. Police are asking anyone with info to please contact them.

7692123_G.jpg

7692124_G.jpg
 
He said Gordon had been in custody since Tuesday, when his name surfaced from emails found between him and Clark about the red 2007 Nissan 350ZX that Clark had listed for sale on the website.

Fagan said police believe Gordon shot Clark on Monday while Gordon was on his lunch hour. Court records say a witness saw Gordon get into the front passenger seat of Clark's car. Clark then drove out of sight, to an abandoned railroad track with only one access point, court records say. Several minutes later, the witness saw Gordon driving Clark's Nissan back to the parking lot, park the car and walk back to his workplace.

Clark's body was found "near the abandoned railroad spur, covered with dirt and leaves. The victim had been shot in the head," court records say.

Fagan said the murder weapon has not been found and the motive is unknown.

“This is a young man who was going to college,” Fagan said of Clark. “He was a good person, a good citizen.”
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http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/...cle_5bc1871b-c66c-5c1f-bc8f-501c35ffcb40.html


So...ummm....in the press conference yesterday when the police captain refused to answer almost ALL of the reporters questions, if he had stated all of the information we now know, how would that have "jeopardized the investigation" exactly ?
 
popsicle said:
Christine Byers ‏@ChristineDByers 4m4 minutes ago
Major Case Squad just towed #TaylorClark murder suspect's car from 4100 block of Penrose, applying for search warrant, hoping to find gun


Christine Byers ‏@ChristineDByers 2m2 minutes ago
Michael Gordon owned car just like #TaylorClark's, but it was repo'd. He hid it from the repo man near location where Clark's body was found
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Wonder if he was angry or jealous that his car had been repossessed and Taylor had the same car???
 
Car jacking gone wrong?

Was it reported if both cars were the same color?

Did Gordon actually think he could just start driving Taylor's car and no one would know the difference?
 
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