Omro man guilty of double homicide after 3-day trial
OSHKOSH — A jury found an Omro man guilty of two counts of first-degree intentional homicide and one count of attempting to mutilate a corpse after a three-day trial.
Andrew Clark was convicted Wednesday night of killing his wife, 36-year-old Melissa Matz, of Omro, and 40-year-old Lavar Wallace, of Appleton, in the early morning hours of Oct. 21, 2020.
The verdict was read in at 6:31 p.m. Wednesday. Closing arguments ended at 3:48 p.m. The jury deliberated for just under 2½ hours.
During the three-day jury trial, the prosecution, led by Winnebago County District Attorney Eric Sparr, brought forward 19 witnesses, including Michael Draine, Clark's nephew who was present for the killings. Clark, represented by Russell J.A. Jones, didn't present witnesses.
Clark's sentencing hearing is scheduled for 10 a.m. Jan. 17.
According to a criminal complaint, police arrived at Clark's house on Elo Road in Omro the morning of Oct. 21, 2020, after Clark called police and said his house was on fire, someone had broken in and his wife wasn't breathing. There, officers found the bodies of Matz and Wallace, and detected a strong smell of gasoline. They also found rags soaked in gasoline and a candle that may have been used as a makeshift fuse in the bathroom.
Draine, the only witness who saw the killings, was initially charged with harboring or aiding a felon, but his charges were dismissed in January of this year. In the motion to dismiss, Sparr said Draine was "much more of a mere witness to these crimes, rather than a person who should be prosecuted."
Draine took the witness stand Tuesday morning. He was granted use immunity, meaning nothing from his testimony can be used against him in future court proceedings. Draine told the jury he was in town from Chicago, visiting Clark and Matz at the time the murders happened.
Draine testified that, the night of Oct. 20, 2020 and into the early morning of Oct. 21, he went out to the Peppermint Hippo, an adult entertainment club in the town of Neenah, with Clark, Matz and Wallace. At the club, Clark got into an argument with Matz, which continued on the drive back to Matz's and Clark's house in Omro, where the four were staying.
Draine said that, back at the house, Clark and Matz continued to argue in their bedroom with the door shut. Draine said he and Wallace, who went by the nickname "Shorty," were about to play video games when they heard a gunshot from the bedroom. Draine went to the room and saw Matz bleeding on the floor and Clark with a gun in his hand, which Draine believed came from a safe in the bedroom, he testified.
Clark then told Draine and Wallace to sit at the dining room table. Draine said Clark's demeanor was frantic and he "didn't seem in his right mind at the time." Wallace, Draine said, was "panicking."
Sometime after shooting Matz, Clark told Draine and Wallace to go with him to the SUV, Draine testified, so they could go to Greene's Pour House, at 44 W. Sixth Ave. in Oshkosh. Clark, who worked as a bar cleaner, wanted them to be seen on video cleaning the bar so they would have an alibi, Draine said.
Clark and Draine went outside to go to the vehicle, but Wallace paused in the house, Draine said. While standing outside, Clark told Draine he thought Wallace was going to "snitch" and instructed Draine to shoot Wallace. Clark tried to hand Draine his gun, but Draine said he refused. About 10 to 15 seconds later, Clark returned to the house and shot Wallace.
At some point, Clark and Draine went to the garage, where Clark grabbed a gas can. Draine said he couldn't remember if Clark retrieved the gas can before or after shooting Wallace. He said Clark poured the gas in the house, as if to set it on fire to destroy evidence, but Draine never saw Clark start any fire.
After both Matz and Wallace were shot, Clark drove Draine to Greene's Pour House. They cleaned the bar, then returned to the house hours later. After returning to the house, Clark gave Draine a backpack and a phone, and drove him to an Appleton hotel and dropped him off. Later that morning, Draine's sister came from Chicago and picked him up. Draine ditched the backpack and phone.
Draine said at the trial that he never looked inside the backpack. According to the complaint, Draine told investigators found the backpack based on Draine's description of where he left it. Inside, there was a gun that matched the caliber of the casings found at the residence and the gas station garbage, as well as over $3,000 in cash, MDMA pills, about 3/4-pound of marijuana and about five ounces of cocaine.
Upon learning there was a warrant out for his arrest, Draine turned himself in to police in Wisconsin later that day. Draine testified that he didn't go to the police sooner because he distrusts law enforcement.
During his testimony, Draine said he had a hard time piecing together what order some of the events happened.
In his cross-examination, Jones tried to point out Draine's contradicting timeline. In some parts of Draine's story, his memory of the event was better than it was two years ago; in other places, it was worse, Jones said.
At one point, Draine contradicted himself. Draine testified that he wasn't certain if Clark shot Wallace for a second and third time before he and Draine left for Greene's Pour House or after they returned — but that he believes the additional shots were fired when they returned and Clark thought Wallace was still alive. However, Draine stated that he stayed in the car when they returned to the house before Clark drove Draine to the hotel. When Jones questioned how Draine could have seen Clark shoot Wallace again if he remained in the vehicle, Draine said he actually did return inside the house.
In his cross-examination, Jones tried to point out Draine's contradicting timeline. In some parts of Draine's story, his memory of the event was better than it was two years ago; in other places, it was worse, Jones said.
Draine said he wasn't timing how long things took at the time.
"I was in the middle of a traumatic event," he said.
RELATED:Trial for Omro man charged with double homicide to begin Monday
Contact Kelli Arseneau at 920-213-3721 or karseneau@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter at @ArseneauKelli.
This article originally appeared on Oshkosh Northwestern: Omro man found guilty of double homicide at jury trial
