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In Dateline: The House in the Woods, the residents of Twin Tiers were shocked to discover that their peaceful community was stained by murder and brutality. During the Dateline special feature, the murder of Kelley Stage Clayton on September 29, 2015, was covered.
Even though Kelley’s husband, Thomas Clayton, found her body, the suspicions fell immediately upon him, and less than two years later, Thomas and Michael Beard were convicted of first-degree murder, after Thomas was accused of hiring Michael to murder his wife.
The case is covered in detail by Dateline, and the coverage ensured that various aspects of the case were reported, including the violent nature as well as other important clues that were found at the crime scene.
Here’s a look at some of the details regarding the case and the people involved.
Dateline: The House in the Woods – 5 details about the murder in the Town of Caton
1. Thomas Clayton had a reckless and womanizing side to him that revealed his deeper motivations
Even though Kelley and Thomas appeared as the perfect family with two kids and a beautiful home in a lush area, another side of Thomas was unknown to many. Thomas met Kelley when he was playing hockey for the Elmira Jackals in the early aughts. After retiring from the sport, Thomas began working in property restoration, and he and Kelley began living on Ginnan Road in Steuben County in the Town of Caton in 2012. The couple was parents to two children as well.
However, apart from his ambitions to expand his business with the help of childhood friend Brian Laing and fellow laborer Michael Beard, Thomas also had a sinister side to him. Many women came forward to testify that they had been in a relationship with Thomas, and he preyed upon married and underage women as well. Thomas also spoke negatively about his wife, Kelley, and phone records show that Thomas used to send suggestive messages to other women. Further, Thomas lamented that he cannot divorce his wife as she would take away everything.
2. Thomas and Michael strike a deal to murder Kelley
Therefore, Thomas had resentment within him against Kelley, as highlighted in the Dateline episode, and he decided to free himself from his wife. Special prosecutor Weeden Wetmore also noted this as a motive for Thomas. Michael Beard worked with Thomas, and he therefore found Beard to be apt for the murder plan. Michael was a hard worker, but he also stole items.
Therefore, he was fired by Thomas and desperately needed money. Beard confessed, even though he later recanted it, that Thomas offered him $10,000 to kill Kelley. Thomas also decided to be out of town during that fateful week.
3. Important clues in the investigation and how the events unfolded
According to a former ServPro employee, Larry Johnson (at his place of employment), Thomas left his white truck near Michael’s residence and drove a ServPro vehicle to Ohio.
Larry and Beard drove to Thomas Clayton’s home after midnight on September 24, adding that Beard was gone from the truck for half an hour. However, Beard backed out of the plan that day, citing that the police had an eye on Thomas' truck.
However, Thomas Clayton oversaw another opportunity when Tetrault wanted his truck, ensuring that suspicion would not fall on him. On September 26, 2015, Tetrault took Clayton's truck and was informed to bring the truck to his work and not his home. On September 28, 2015, Clayton told Tetrault to switch trucks, and videos show that he left Tetrault’s truck at the ServPro and drove home in a ServPro truck.
In the evening, Thomas said bye to Kelley and went for a poker game. After 11 pm, he called Beard using his friend’s wife’s phone, and Beard got Tetrault’s pickup truck from the ServPro and used it to reach Thomas’ home. Beard's friend Mark Blandford was also picked up, and he stated that although he was aware that Beard was about to commit a crime, he did not know what it was.
4. The details about the brutal murder of Kelley
Details on Dateline cover that Michael reached Thomas’ home around midnight and got in through the garage through a key given by Thomas. Michael also got the handle of a maul, and Kelley was sleeping when Michael entered the room and struck her twice with the maul handle. Kelley fought back, and that resulted in a gruesome crime scene with blood splatters everywhere, according to Dateline.
Kelley ran downstairs and knocked off a picture as well while trying to reach her daughter's bedroom. However, falling down the stairs, either by stumbling or after being pushed, she crashed into a wall on the landing and also ran from the dining room to the kitchen. Michael finally caught up with her and brutally beat Kelley on her head and face, and left her battered and lifeless on the floor.
Michael even changed his clothes and put his bloody clothes in a gym bag and went to ServPro again with Blandford. Michael ditched the maul handle, the clothes, and the keys to the house along the way. He left later on a bicycle, and Thomas left the poker game around 12:20 am and reached his home around 12:30 am. He later called 911.
5. How Thomas was convicted in the Kelley murder case on Dateline
Deputy Dean Swan was in charge of the case along with Undersheriff Jim Allard and Captain Eric Tyner. Suspicion fell on Thomas, and after questioning, he was charged with second-degree murder over Kelley’s death. Michael Beard's name also came up after Kelley’s family member suspected his involvement, and Beard was interviewed several times. Finally, on October 2, he was charged with Kelley’s murder after his confession, as shown on Dateline.
Beard revealed where the officers could find the murder weapon, his clothes, keys, and how he was told to kill Kelley for $10,000 by Thomas Clayton. Both Thomas and Michael were charged with first-degree murder, and Beard later recounted the confession at his trial. Beard stated that Thomas wanted him to burn his house down for insurance money and not to kill Kelley. Beard was also told that no one was at home, and he saw that Kelley was already dead and left in shock. However, his version was not accepted, and in November, he was still convicted of first- and second-degree murder.
Dateline: The House in the Woods - More details about the murder of Kelley Clayton
Afterwards, Luke Tetrault testified that he remembered the broken maul handle and that he and Thomas switched trucks at ServPro on September 28. Wetmore also had testimonies of other people that revealed how Thomas did not like his wife and had extramarital affairs. Finally, phone records indicated that there were calls and messages between Michael and Thomas before Kelley’s death, according to Dateline.
Thomas Clayton’s trial took place over seven weeks, and Wetmore pieced together multiple witnesses and numerous pieces of evidence to illustrate Clayton’s personality according to Dateline. The jury finally found Thomas guilty in six hours. Michael was sentenced to life without parole in February 2017 and is at the Clinton Correctional Facility in New York. Thomas was also sentenced to life in prison without parole in April 2017 and is at the Sing Sing Correctional Facility in New York. However, Thomas filed a formal appeal about his murder conviction in October 2018, which was rejected.
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