Yesterday, in Georgetown, Texas, a judge sentenced Clayton and Molly Daniels to prison time as their plan to fake a death to claim insurance money was foiled thanks to the dedication of the police service and the detectives set to work on this bizarre case.
A frantic 911 caller informed police of a car that had been set ablaze. Police squads, detective teams and firemen arrived at the scene moments later. They found a burnt Chevrolet – the care that belonged to a man named Clayton Daniels. Everything inside the car was completely scorched and at first glance there was no evidence of a body being there as it was burnt to basically nothing.
After forensics teams had searched the car thoroughly, they managed to find a shoe that belonged to Clayton Daniels and some very charred remains that they suspected were his bones. The life insurance company insisted of having the bones tested to ensure that they did in fact belong to Clayton Daniels, before they gave the money to Molly Daniels, his wife.
In a strange twist of events, the researchers discovered that the body did not in fact belong to Clayton Daniels, but to a female. When tested against a DNA sample from Clayton’s mother, it showed no resemblance at all. Police, detectives and family of the supposed victim alike were dumbfounded as to the results of the tests. They now had to wonder where Clayton was, and who was the female who had been burnt in Daniels’ car?
Molly Daniels, Clayton’s wife and mother to their two children, was always a quiet woman that mainly kept to herself, and she was the type of person that was a lot more intelligent than everyone gave her credit for. Molly had found herself a new boyfriend almost immediately after the supposed death of her husband. Family found this suspicious, but didn’t act on their feelings as they believed it was just her way of recovering. She never introduced her new boyfriend, who went by the name of ‘Jake Gregg’, to her family and he looked strikingly similar to Clayton Daniels, not considering the difference in the hair colour.
Arson investigators were suspicious from the start as the accident scene had no skid marks, or signs of a high-speed crash. They had also discovered that charcoal lighter fluid had been the cause of the fire, so they assumed that it had been lit deliberately. They were now investigating a homicide, not an accidental death.
Searches of the Daniels’ home and Molly’s work station produced a new lead in the case. In the history of Molly Daniels’ computer, were searches of how to burn a body completely beyond recognition, and how to produce fake birth certificates and licences. Officers also found a list of plastic surgeons that resided in Mexico and things that Molly and Clayton had wanted done. Molly was taken in for questioning and was now suspected to be involved in the murder case.
At first she denied any involvement with the murder, but after being shown the evidence that they had on her, she confessed to having helped Clayton dig up a body from a nearby cemetery. Investigators went to the cemetery that Molly had described and found the grave of Charlotte Davis, an elderly woman who had died in 2003, to be dug up and then filled in again.
Molly and Clayton had dug up Charlotte in the middle of the night, dressed her in Clayton’s clothing, even down to the baseball cap and the shoes, and put her in the Chevrolet, only to set her alight. They had hoped that the insurance company would assume that the charred remains were those of Clayton Daniels.
Investigators still had many questions. Where was Clayton Daniels now? Why Charlotte Davis? Why would they try to pull such a complicated crime? Officers realised that ‘Jake Gregg’, was actually Clayton Daniels, and he was arrested immediately.
When questioned as to why he chose Charlotte Davis, he answered that it was just a random choice. She was close to entrance of the cemetery and she had been dead for a while, so people wouldn’t have been suspicious. Family wouldn’t have complained about her being gone.
When asked about the motive of this extremely intricate plan, Clayton revealed that it wasn’t just to claim the insurance money of $110,000, it was because he had sexually assaulted a fourteen year old girl some years back. He had brought shame not only to himself, but to his family as well.
Clayton and Molly Daniels had planned to flee to Mexico with the insurance money and have plastic surgery done so that they were beyond recognition in case any one came looking for them. It was supposed to be a new beginning for them. A way for the pair to escape the shame and embarrassment Clayton had brought upon his family.
A jury took only two hours to convict Molly. She was sentenced to twenty years in jail for insurance fraud as she was the one who was responsible for the structure of the crime, and also an additional ten years for hindering Clayton’s arrest. Clayton Daniels was trialled for arson and was sentenced to life imprisonment.
Talking to Charlotte’s family produced a strange coincidence. It turns out that Charlotte had always been afraid of being burnt to death. Not only was she dug up from where she was supposed to rest eternally, she had been subjected to her biggest fear. Charlotte Davis’ charred remains were reburied in her original grave and the new mound of dirt is slowly settling over her casket.
Police, investigators and family of the criminals were amazed at the intricacy of this plan. They had never seen or heard of similar cases before and they wondered why someone would go to such lengths just to escape their present life. The fraud carried out by Clayton and Molly Daniels to claim their $110,000 life insurance is definitely a bizarre and unique case.
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