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Section Two The Canadian Statesman, Bowmanville, Wednesday, May 18,1994 9 T he good folks of Greencastle, Penn., were concerned when Donald Lewis Clark's wife, Phyllis, took ill. It was in the fall of 1981 that 54-year-old Phyllis complained of stomach trouble. Nothing really serious at first, just recurring stomach cramps. But the discomfort didn't go away. Rev. Clark and most of the parishioners at the Macedonia United Brethren Church were shocked when Phyllis, obviously in considerable pain, fell down the cellar stairs of the church parsonage. Rushed to Chambersburg Hospital, about 15 km from Greencastle, Phyllis didn't respond to treatment. On Oct. 23, she was transferred to the Hershey Medical Centre, where she died the next day. When asked if he wanted an autopsy performed on his dear wife, Clark suggested it wasn't necessary. He felt his wife of 29 blissful years should be laid to rest intact. Those involved tended to agree. The funeral was a solemn affair attended by most of the minister's flock. Clark appeared beside himself with grief. No doubt as hé watched the casket being lowered into its final resting place, he thought how different all this was in comparison to the breakup of his first marriage. Marriage Number One had taken place long ago when he was still a young man. When he and his first wife divorced, it: took him only a year to meet aiid wed Phyllis Miller. The two daughters who blessed their union were a gift from God. Members of the church shook their collective heads. The reverend wasn't taking his loss well. Of course, they had no way of knowing the Lord had provided Clark with the foresight to insure Phyllis' life for a cool $50,000 just two months before she departed this cruel world. T o ease his great pain, the reverend purchased a couple of new cars, which more than replaced the rickety old rattletrap he had been forced to drive before the tragic loss of his wife. Clark just loved to roar down the country roads in his new Camâro. He changed in other ways, too. When Phyllis was hale and hearty, he attended to his church duties punctually and with great diligence. Now he neglected the church and his devoted flock. The elders of the church, while sympathetic toward their minister, felt enough was enough. About a year after Phyllis' departure, they advised Clark his services were no longer required.. They gave him a month's notice, requesting he move out of the church's property by March 31, 1983. That date was extended to April 27. A lot happened in that one month. Let's start off with Ronaele "Candy" Rotz. On April 7, ' Candy's nude body was found in the bathtub of her home in Chambersburg. An electric space heater was in r-- ■ Max The preacher's grief after his second wife's death was eased by a new Camaro, a secret new wife and a teenage lover. But not for long.... HAINES Crime Flashback the tub with the attractive 40-year-old divorcee. She also had a severe gash on the back of her head. It could have been one of those weird accidents that happen from time to time. Candy could have stumbled, stumbled, hit her head and knocked the heater into the tub as she fell in. Then again, she could have been murdered. And how did the unfortunate death of Candy Rotz involve the good and holy Rev. Clark? Well, I'll tell you. Investigators learned Candy had been an extremely religious woman, who had belonged to every religious organization in the area. Somewhere along the way, she had met Clark while he was mourning the departure of dear Phyllis. On Jan. 20, 1983, the reverend and Candy married secretly, but ,.- m - - f - mm* i %: : .»* . *" ■: iW:-;yv - '■ - *(»: . xX ^ ' ; *v did not live together. No one else knew of their wed- d 'when detectives learned the details of the reverend's • third marriage, they uncovered other sensitive information. information. Clark had never told Candy he was a minister. He posed as a police officer to his bride and to the officiating officiating minister. He claimed to be an undercover narcotics narcotics agent, explaining to Candy that until his current assignment was concluded, they would have to live separately separately for her safety. Clark was in hot water. Speaking of hot water, an autopsy was performed on Candy's body. It was learned she had been struck on the head with a sharp instrument and placed in the tub with the space heater in a crude attempt to make her death appear accidental. D etectives looking into the reverend's activities were now hot to trot. They delved deeper into the devious life of the preacher man. Eight days after his marriage to Candy he had insured her life for $50,000. Not satisfied with this amount of protection, he waited only a week longer before increasing his bride s insurance insurance to $200,000 should she expire due to an accident. -On April 13, authorities paid a visit to Rev. Donald Lewis Clark. When they received no response to their knocking on his door, they forced their way into his home. There was the minister's body lying nude on the bathroom floor. An autopsy and toxicology report indicated indicated he had taken small amounts of arsenic for several days as the circle of evidence drew him into the police investigation. Two days before his body .was found, he gave himself a massive dose, which killed him. The reverend reverend left suicide notes that have never been made pub- Police backtracked. They looked into the untimely demise of wife Number Two. After conducting an extensive extensive investigation, they concluded Phyllis had been systematically systematically poisoned with arsenic. Weak and racked with stomach cramps, she had either fallen or been pushed down the stairs and had died within a few days. Despite Clark's elaborate plans, Candy's murder was botched. The blow to her head had killer her. She was already dead when she was placed in the tub with the heâter The motive for the murders was the insurance money, but there was another reason for the reverend's strange behavior. Investigators discovered he had a teenage lover all.the while he was burying and marrying his wives. No doubt Phyllis was murdered so he could gain his freedom, as well as a tidy sum, to carry on with his mistress. He gave himself a false occupation and lived separately from his third wife to avoid her finding out about his lover. Many believe the minister killed Candy for the insurance money to finance a $90,000 home he had purchased in Shippensburg, where he planned to install his teenage paramour. It matters little. A private funeral service was held for Rev. Donald Lewis Clark, after which he was buried in nearby Burns Hill Cemetery. The Macedonia United Brethren Church hired a new ministèr.