Battle Creek man to face trial in Cherry Hill Manor killing

When Ashley Gaw dropped her mother Angela Clear off at her Cherry Hill Manor apartment about 6:30 p.m. March 23, she thought the 51-year-old was in good hands.

Gaw remembers kissing Clear on the forehead, moments before her mother departed for the apartment building with longtime friend Jerry Clinton Harston, who, Gaw said, had been staying with her mother for about a week.

"When (Harston) came around I felt a relief. I trusted him with my mom," Gaw testified during Harston's preliminary hearing Friday, acknowledging her mother had been in declining health after suffering a stroke in September 2021. "I knew that she was in good hands."

Gaw was one of the three witnesses called by Calhoun County Prosecutor David Gilbert Friday as he presented his case against Harston, 50, who is charged with open murder in Clear's death.

Clear's body was found inside her apartment at 10 Clay St. March 26 after Gaw called in a welfare check.

Following testimony from Gaw, Battle Creek Police officer Hunter Barnett and Detective Brandin Huggett, Calhoun County District Judge Tracie Tomak ordered Harston's case bound over to Calhoun County Circuit Court for trial.

Harston faces a maximum sentence of life in prison without parole if convicted of first-degree murder. A date for trial has not been set. Harston remains in the Calhoun County Jail, held without bond.

Gaw told the court Friday that she talked to her mother every day and frequently cared for the woman as her health declined following a stroke.

Gaw said her mother "needed help doing everything," including going to the bathroom. Despite many attempts to convince the 51-year-old to move in with relatives, Clear declined, opting to live on her own. She moved into the apartment at Cherry Hill Manor in November 2021, Gaw said.

Gaw told the court she assumed her mother had been sleeping or that her phone had died after not hearing from her on March 24. Two days later, after still not hearing from her mother or Harston, Gaw drove to the apartment, and knocked on the locked door for 15 to 20 minutes with no answer.

Peering underneath the apartment door, Gaw could see her mother's dog. She also noticed her mother's wheelchair stationed in the kitchen, which she testified was unusual, since her mother relied on the wheelchair to get around.

It was at that point Gaw called police.

Barnett said he received a call to check on the residence at 10 Clay St. After another officer was able to pick the lock on the apartment door, Barnett entered the home to find Clear's dog frantically scratching at the door.

Barnett told the court that after briefly searching the living room and kitchen, he turned to find a bungee cord wrapped around the handles of the bedroom and bathroom doors, both of which were closed.

"I thought it was unusual," he said. "I noticed it was under tension and I proceeded to unsecure it. When I removed it from the door handle, the bedroom door flung open like it was under tension."

Barnett said inside the bedroom he could see an arm hanging off the bed with what appeared to be blood nearby, with the majority of a body covered by a pink sheet. Barnett pulled back the sheet to find Clear's body.

An autopsy revealed Clear suffered 13 "sharp force injuries," particularly in the neck area. In her report, pathologist Dr. Elizabeth Douglas concluded Clear's cause of death was homicide due to those injuries.

Huggett told the court Harston contacted 911 dispatch in Mecosta County March 27, and told them he was wanted for murder in Battle Creek. An audio recording of Harston's call with dispatchers was entered into evidence.

Huggett testified that when he initially met with Harston in Mecosta County hours later the same day, he noticed blood on the man's hands. A large Bowie knife in Harston's possession also had dried blood on it, he said.

Clear's vehicle, 1995 blue Oldsmobile Ciera, was recovered in a wooded area in Newaygo County. Huggett told the court the license plate had been removed from the car and was recovered in a ditch about 50 yards away.

Contact reporter Greyson Steele at gsteele@battlecreekenquirer.com or 269-501-5661. Follow him on Twitter: G_SteeleBC

This article originally appeared on Battle Creek Enquirer: Battle Creek man to face trial in Cherry Hill Manor killing