Murdering Our Son: The Steven Clark Story, review - a compelling crime case told in a peculiar way
The central mystery in Accused of Murdering Our Son: The Steven Clark Story (ITV) remains as compelling today as it did when Steven went missing in December 1992. The 23-year-old disappeared during a walk with his mother by Saltburn Pier in Cleveland. Although there were two credible sightings of him in the days afterwards, no trace of him was ever found. His bank account remained untouched.
Twenty-eight years later and as part of a cold case review, police arrested Steven’s parents, Doris and Charles, on suspicion of his murder. What followed was a horrible ordeal in which they were interrogated, forced to move out of their home while it was searched, and spent 17 weeks fearing that they were about to be charged. The couple had contacted the former detective-turned-TV-sleuth, Mark Williams-Thomas, for help. But what followed was a true crime story told in a peculiar way.
Williams-Thomas put himself centre stage, involving talking into a Dictaphone and sharing his findings via Zoom with a retired senior police officer, but that didn’t illuminate proceedings. In the end Williams-Thomas concluded, as did the police, that the couple were innocent.
But before that point he attempted to test their innocence with his own techniques. “I’ve tried everything to break them – back and forth, repeating questions, asking them in a different manner… and they don’t falter,” he said. The camera often lingered on Charles’s face, as if to cast doubt, which felt sly.
As with the case of Madeleine McCann, the Clarks are tortured by not knowing what happened to their child. “Every morning I look out the window – 26, 27 years I’ve been looking for him, all the time. He’s somewhere. He’s not dead,” Charles said.
It was heartbreaking to watch old film of a smiling Steven accepting an award from the Rathbone Society, which helps people with disabilities. He had sustained life-changing injuries in a road accident as a toddler. Sadly, he struggled to find work. Had that contributed to a depressive state that meant he wanted to disappear?
This film had no more answers. But perhaps raising awareness of the case will encourage someone to come forward.
