diagnosis 7.dia.14 Louis J. Sheehan, Esquire

"The smell of decaying fish permeated the house and was extremely difficult to eradicate," the charging document read. Yet, the combination of a gun possession charge and vandalism set off no alarm bells about the man the local cops had once—albeit briefly—suspected of killing a six-year old girl.

There were times that Hadden Clark attempted to get help. He would often show up at a local veterans' hospital but after staying a few days and getting a few doses of Haldol, the anti-psychotic drug, he would bolt from the ward and return to his woods.

A doctor's diagnosis was a warning: "his mental state is psychosis with questionable etiology. He states that birds and squirrels talk to him and keep him company . . . he is tearful at times with intermittent outbursts of anger and agitation . . . he is a potential danger to himself through poor judgment and self-defeating behavior."

Hadden's own words as recorded by the hospital's doctors were chilling. "I think I have a split personality," he said. "I don't like to hurt people but I do things I am not aware of . . ."

Increasingly Unstable

In February of 1989, local police again arrested Hadden Clark. This time there was a 17-count criminal indictment. Fifteen of the counts were for theft. The acts were unusual. Hadden Clark had dressed in women's clothing and visited a number of area churches. While women inside the churches attended choir practice, he visited the cloakroom and stole both their purses and their coats.