Thomas Clayton: Where Is He Now? Watch New Dateline Episode
In the twenty-fifth episode of season 25 of Dateline, titled “The House in the Woods,” the horrifying murder-for-hire mystery involving a former hockey player named Thomas Clayton was investigated.
Kelley Clayton, who was 35 years old at the time of her death, was discovered on the floor of the kitchen in her own home in Caton, New York, in September of 2015. After some time had passed, it became clear that her husband, Thomas Clayton, had conspired with another individual to have his wife murdered. In the later hours of the same day, Thomas dialed 911 to report that Kelley had been murdered.
The case relied heavily on the testimony of Clayton’s oldest daughter, who served as a witness.
Where is Thomas Clayton located?
At this time, Thomas Clayton is doing time at the Sing Sing Correctional Facility in Ossining, New York, where he was sentenced to life in prison. After a lengthy trial that lasted many weeks, it was determined that he had conspired with another individual to have his wife murdered, and he was subsequently convicted of both first and second degree murder.
During the beginning of the jury deliberations in the murder trial of Thomas Clayton, he is seen standing outside the Steuben County Courthouse with his mother. #ClaytonTrial
Clayton, a native of Binghamton and a former hockey player, played the sport competitively for a total of four seasons between the years 1998 and 2002. In 2002, he called it quits in the sport he loved so much and soon after, he launched his own company.
According to the rumors, Clayton was notorious for having several relationships outside of marriage in addition to his involvement in gambling.
The slaying of Kelley Clayton was a very dramatic event
Thomas Clayton, who had paid another man to kill his wife Kelley, called 911 at 12:30 in the morning to report that his wife had been dead. As soon as the police arrived, their suspicions were instantly focused on him, and he was ultimately charged with murder in the second degree.
In the end, the detectives were able to determine that it was not just a murder, but also a conspiracy that involved another individual named Michael Beard. It was rumored that Clayton had offered Beard $10,000 to arrange for Kelley’s murder.
When Beard later modified his account, it made things more fascinating for the police as well as more challenging for them. Beard asserted that Clayton had merely asked him to torch Clayton’s home at a time when “nobody would be there” so that Clayton could collect the money from his insurance policy.
Beard claimed that he observed Kelley lying dead on the floor of their home on the evening of the murder when he entered their home. Beard asserted that he fled the scene as soon as he saw the dead body, which made the prosecution’s case against Clayton even more difficult to understand.
Furthermore, there was sufficient evidence to demonstrate that Clayton was not as innocent as he was attempting to portray himself to be. The evidence presented at trial, which consisted of data taken from cellphones, showed that Beard and Clayton were in frequent contact in the weeks leading up to the murder.
Beard was put on trial in November of 2016, and a jury ultimately convicted him guilty. He received a sentence of life in jail without the possibility of parole.
Micheal Beard was convicted guilty of all charges in connection with the murder of Kelley Clayton, according to BREAKING NEWS. #ClaytonCase and the Beard Trial
The woman’s daughter witnessed the murder of her mother
It seems likely that Clayton’s oldest daughter was the one who through the most harrowing ordeal during the entirety of the episode. She saw as Kelley was struck by a pipe and later passed away in front of her eyes.
She stated the following in one of the interviews with the police:
“Someone showed up and struck my mother with that pipe object. When I saw her laying on the ground like that, I believed she had passed away.
The young girl, who was 7 at the time, also mentioned that she believed the man who was assaulting her mother was her father since the man’s eyes resembled Clayton’s eyes.
She penned the following in a letter addressed to the court: “I feel as though my father is a coward because he asked Michael Beard to kill my mother.”
The testimony of the daughter was one of the most important pieces of evidence that was presented in defense of Clayton.
At the moment, the kids have not been able to communicate with their father.