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Man accused in Labor Day murder bound over for trial

Justin Addison, Editor/Publisher
Posted 2/9/21

The case against a Franklin man accused of second-degree murder in the Labor Day 2020 stabbing death of 22-year-old Courtney Clardy has been bound over to trial. Following a probable-cause hearing on …

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Man accused in Labor Day murder bound over for trial

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The case against a Franklin man accused of second-degree murder in the Labor Day 2020 stabbing death of 22-year-old Courtney Clardy has been bound over to trial. Following a probable-cause hearing on Friday, Associate Circuit Judge Mason Gebhardt found there was enough evidence against Emmett S. Wood, Jr. to send the case before Presiding Circuit 14 Judge Scott Hayes.

Wood appeared in court with his attorney, public defender Robert Fleming.

During the hearing, Mike Neal, who was the Howard County Sheriff at the time of the murder, testified that a call came in shortly after 5 p.m. on September 7, 2020, stating that a woman at 404 Crews Street in Franklin was bleeding profusely. The defendant’s father, Sam, had apparently called 911 after witnessing his son stab Ms. Clardy with a homemade spear. According to testimony from Mr. Neal, Sam had told a deputy that when he saw the victim on the floor, his son allegedly said, “She’s a cop, let her die.”

Sam had allegedly told a deputy that his son, known as J.R., “was the one who killed the girl,” and “had ran off,” according to Mr. Neal’s testimony.

Mr. Neal said that during an interview three days after the murder, on September 10, 2020, Sam told him that he was awakened in his downstairs bedroom by a commotion in the adjacent kitchen and saw two people run by. He told the sheriff that he saw J.R. grab Ms. Clardy by the hair and slam her to the floor, where her head collided with the base of a fireplace. J.R. stood over her with “something long and black in his hand.” Clardy was attempting to leave by the front door at the time. J.R. then “ran off” and Sam phoned 911.

“That’s when he told dispatch, ‘she’s already gone’,” Mr. Neal told the court.

Howard County Sheriff’s Deputy Scott Sellers testified that a blood trail indicated that the struggle likely began in J.R.’s upstairs bedroom.

According to testimony on Friday, a short time after the killing had occurred, Gary Durham, who lives nearby, reported to officers maintaining the perimeter around the crime scene that he J.R. had come to him and asked for a ride. Mr. Durham allegedly told investigators that he saw quite a bit of blood on J.R., who wouldn’t say where it came from.

“He gave him a ride as far as Clark’s Chapel and kicked him out of the car,” Mr. Neal told the court.

Clark’s Chapel is a church a few miles to the west of Franklin in rural south Howard County. Woods was apprehended southeast of the chapel’s cemetery by the Missouri State Highway Patrol the following day. He was wearing only underwear and said he had burned his clothes. Found on a bench in the cemetery was the possible murder weapon, a golf club shaft with a blade attached to one end, and a chrome ball from a trailer hitch on the other. The double-edged blade was nearly five inches in length and was likely homemade, according to Mr. Neal.

Another person staying inside the home on Crews Street was Darrell Greenfield, who had mounted a camera inside the kitchen that was aimed into the back yard.

Mr. Neal said that an officer from the Boone County cyber crimes unit, Cody Downs, was able to extract photos the motion-activated camera had sent to Mr. Greenfield’s mobile telephone. Captured in various time-stamped images were Ms. Clardy, Sam Wood, and J.R. Wood, Mr. Neal explained to the court.

Greenfield, along with Kassandra Finn, who were living together in the home at the time of the murder, were arrested in December on charges pertaining to drug trafficking and child endangerment.

Emmett Wood, Jr., 44, has remained in custody at the Howard County Jail since his apprehension on September 8. He is scheduled to be arraigned before Judge Hayes at 9 a.m. on February 22.

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