A six-day trial in Pulaski County Circuit Court resulted in guilty verdicts for defendant 51-year-old Danny James Clark of Medaryville. He was charged with murder and other felony charges including arson surrounding the death of William “Neil” Toosley in August 2018.
Evidence in the trial showed that Clark entered a home in rural Medaryville without permission and waited there with a shotgun because he said he wanted to talk to the homeowner, according to Pulaski County Prosecutor Kelly Gaumer. When Toosley entered the home, evidence in the trial indicated that Clark pointed the gun at him and ordered him to the ground. Clark then hit Toosley in the back of the head several times which proved to be fatal, according to the report. Evidence presented showed that Clark set the home on fire, stole the vehicle Toosley drove to the residence, and then fled the scene.
The Coroner’s Office later determined that Toosley died from blunt force trauma, and endured burns on over 80 percent of his body after his death.
Clark was apprehended two weeks later in Louisiana. When interviewed by police, Clark stated that Toosley’s death was an accident. According to Gaumer, medical evidence presented showed that the wounds were inflicted intentionally and with great force.
Clark’s trial began last week and it ended Tuesday, April 12. A Pulaski County jury deliberated for four hours before returning verdicts of guilty on each charge. He is facing a sentence of over 80 years in a sentencing hearing scheduled for Thursday, May 19 at 8:15 a.m. ET in Pulaski Circuit Court.
The Pulaski County Sheriff’s Department, Indiana State Police, Indiana State Fire Marshal’s Office, Carroll County Sheriff’s Department, White County Sheriff’s Department, Brookston Police Department, Lafayette Police Department, Pulaski County Coroner’s Office, Terrebone Parish, Louisiana Sheriff’s Department, and Pulaski County Prosecutor’s Office were all involved in the case.
