Man says he was performing exorcism when wife died

ODESSA, Texas - A man accused of killing his wife said he was holding her facedown on the floor during an exorcism when the devil entered his body and caused her to die, according to a probable cause statement.

Jan David Clark, 60, of Odessa was arrested Friday after authorities went to his home and found Susan Kay Clark’s body wrapped in a bed sheet with a cross and sword on top of it.

Sgt. Gary Duesler said the Ector County Sheriff’s Office went to the home before dawn Friday after being told that David Clark had called a friend and said his 59-year-old wife was dead. Clark told investigators he had his wife pinned on the floor of their carpeted master bathroom when she died.

Clark was charged with murder and remained in the Ector County jail on Sunday on $300,000 bond. He has declined comment at the jail. It was unclear whether he had an attorney.

The woman’s body was taken to the Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office for an autopsy.

Taryn Beck, 29, said she was once related to Susan Clark when Clark was married to Beck’s grandfather before his death. She said was in shock when she heard of the death because the couple seemed so close.

“They were like an old married couple,” Beck said. “They would just roll their eyes at each other, but I never thought something like this would’ve happened.”

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