When Logan police officers responded to a report this summer of an unresponsive woman in a hotel room, the incident had the appearance of a suicide attempt.
But there was more to the case than that, according to the Logan Police Department. Further investigation led detectives to believe that the woman who made the 911 call for help on the morning of June 24 might have encouraged her friend to try to commit suicide — and also provided the means to carry out the attempt, a department news release says.
The 55-year-old friend survived, and Teresa Renae Clark is now charged with attempted murder, as well as cruelty to an animal for allegedly killing the other woman’s two companion dogs. A charging document alleges Clark tried to cause the death of the woman for financial gain.
At a Wednesday hearing, 1st District Judge Thomas Willmore set a preliminary hearing for Sept. 7.
Clark, a 36-year-old Millville woman, is charged with three counts of attempted aggravated murder, which is a first-degree felony, and two counts of aggravated cruelty to an animal, a class A misdemeanor. The dates of the alleged murder attempts are listed as June 17, June 24 and July 7.
The charging document alleges that each of the attempted homicides was committed “by means of the administration of a poison or of any lethal substance or of any substance administered in a lethal amount, dosage, or quantity,” but does not give further details.
According to a search warrant affidavit, officers on June 24 found the alleged victim unconscious with shallow breathing laying on the bed next to two deceased dogs. The canines were wrapped in white hotel towels and there was a liquid smeared around their mouths, the affidavit says.
Paramedics found the woman had a pulse and took her to Logan Regional Hospital for lifesaving treatment, the affidavit says.
On the hotel nightstand, the officers and paramedics found empty prescription containers for a sedative used to treat insomnia and a medication used to treat anxiety and panic disorders, the affidavit says. It says information on the containers showed that the prescriptions were filled on June 8.
Empty syringes without the needles; crushed white powder; canine medications; liquid containers; and a pill crusher allegedly were found on a desk in an adjoining room. In that room, police also found linen smeared with a liquid on a couch where a place had been prepared for the dogs, the affidavit says.
A search warrant return says a suicide note, a living will, a power of attorney document and a letter addressed to two people also were found in the room.
Clark faces a potential punishment of up to life in prison if convicted of attempted murder.
