WROI News

76 year sentence in Pulaski County murder

A Monticello man will serve 76 years in prison for the murder of William “Neil” Toosley.

 

Danny James Clark, 50, was found guilty last month by a Pulaski County jury of murdering Toosley in rural Medaryville in August 2018.  Evidence showed Clark violated a no-contact order by traveling to the home of a former girlfriend in northern Pulaski County. Clark told police that he waited in the empty house for two days.  When Toosley entered the home he Clark pointed a gun at him.  He then questioned Toosley, then ordered him to the floor and hit him at least five times in the back of the head. 

 

Clark then set the house on fire and stole the homeowner’s vehicle. 

 

Police arrested Clark in Louisiana about two weeks later.  He was found after he called a friend in Indiana.

 

Four of Toosley’s family members gave impact statements at the sentencing hearing.  They asked for the longest possible sentence.

 

The homeowner also explained that she still fears Clark and lost all her belongings in the fire.

 

Clark was convicted of several charges including murder, arson and abuse of a corpse.

 

“This sentence considered Clark’s prior conviction for domestic violence, the violationof the no-contact order, Clark’s extensive planning and preparation before committing the crimes, and his efforts to evade the law after he killed Neil.  The defendant’s acts were calculated, brutal, and 100% vindictive against the homeowner for ending their relationship,” said Pulaski County Prosecutor Kelly Gaumer.

 

“Clark had plenty of options that did not include murder or arson,” Gaumer continued.  “IInstead of taking any of those, he chose to bludgeon an innocent man.  Neil Toosley had no dispute with Clark and believed he was walking into an empty home to run an errand for the homeowner.”

 

Toosley, a National Guard veteran, would have been 46 years old if he was still alive today.

 

 

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