Doug Clark (criminal)
Encyclopedia
Douglas Daniel Clark is an American serial killer
. Clark and his accomplice Carol M. Bundy
are known as the "Sunset Strip Killers". They were accused and subsequently convicted of a series of killings
in Los Angeles
.
Clark, a boiler operator in a Jergens soap factory, previously worked at a San Fernando
power station, but was fired due to a high rate of absence and threats of violence he had made against his coworkers. After his marriage failed, he met Bundy in 1980 and began living with her. Clark's relationship with Bundy became abusive, and he paid less attention to her, causing her to become desperate for his attention. He began to share his violent fantasies with Bundy, and in June 1980, the couple made their first kill.
The majority of the duo's victims were prostitutes
that Clark killed during sex. Reportedly, Clark was striving to fulfill his fantasy of killing a woman during sex and feeling her vagina
l contractions during the death spasms. Clark and Bundy would typically lure the woman into their car and have her perform fellatio
on Clark. Bundy would then place a gun into Clark's open palm, and he would shoot the victim in the back of the head. Clark told Bundy that if either of them were apprehended, he would take the blame in the hope that Bundy would be allowed to go free. On one occasion they saved the head of a victim and stored it in a freezer for use as a sex toy.
After his arrest in August 1980, Clark acted as his own defense, insisting that he was framed by the prosecution for the murders. Sentenced to death
in 1983, he sits on California's death row
. Bundy plea bargained and, in return for her testimony, received a life sentence.
Serial killer
A serial killer, as typically defined, is an individual who has murdered three or more people over a period of more than a month, with down time between the murders, and whose motivation for killing is usually based on psychological gratification...
. Clark and his accomplice Carol M. Bundy
Carol M. Bundy
Carol M. Bundy was an American serial killer.Bundy and Doug Clark became known as "The Sunset Strip Killers" after being convicted of a series of murders in Los Angeles during the late spring and early summer of 1980...
are known as the "Sunset Strip Killers". They were accused and subsequently convicted of a series of killings
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
.
Clark, a boiler operator in a Jergens soap factory, previously worked at a San Fernando
San Fernando, California
San Fernando is a city located in the San Fernando Valley, in northwestern region of Los Angeles, California, United States. The population was 23,645 at the 2010 census, up from 23,564 at the 2000 census.-History:...
power station, but was fired due to a high rate of absence and threats of violence he had made against his coworkers. After his marriage failed, he met Bundy in 1980 and began living with her. Clark's relationship with Bundy became abusive, and he paid less attention to her, causing her to become desperate for his attention. He began to share his violent fantasies with Bundy, and in June 1980, the couple made their first kill.
The majority of the duo's victims were prostitutes
Prostitution
Prostitution is the act or practice of providing sexual services to another person in return for payment. The person who receives payment for sexual services is called a prostitute and the person who receives such services is known by a multitude of terms, including a "john". Prostitution is one of...
that Clark killed during sex. Reportedly, Clark was striving to fulfill his fantasy of killing a woman during sex and feeling her vagina
Vagina
The vagina is a fibromuscular tubular tract leading from the uterus to the exterior of the body in female placental mammals and marsupials, or to the cloaca in female birds, monotremes, and some reptiles. Female insects and other invertebrates also have a vagina, which is the terminal part of the...
l contractions during the death spasms. Clark and Bundy would typically lure the woman into their car and have her perform fellatio
Fellatio
Fellatio is an act of oral stimulation of a male's penis by a sexual partner. It involves the stimulation of the penis by the use of the mouth, tongue, or throat. The person who performs fellatio can be referred to as the giving partner, and the other person is the receiving partner...
on Clark. Bundy would then place a gun into Clark's open palm, and he would shoot the victim in the back of the head. Clark told Bundy that if either of them were apprehended, he would take the blame in the hope that Bundy would be allowed to go free. On one occasion they saved the head of a victim and stored it in a freezer for use as a sex toy.
After his arrest in August 1980, Clark acted as his own defense, insisting that he was framed by the prosecution for the murders. Sentenced to death
Capital punishment
Capital punishment, the death penalty, or execution is the sentence of death upon a person by the state as a punishment for an offence. Crimes that can result in a death penalty are known as capital crimes or capital offences. The term capital originates from the Latin capitalis, literally...
in 1983, he sits on California's death row
Death row
Death row signifies the place, often a section of a prison, that houses individuals awaiting execution. The term is also used figuratively to describe the state of awaiting execution , even in places where no special facility or separate unit for condemned inmates exists.After individuals are found...
. Bundy plea bargained and, in return for her testimony, received a life sentence.