Ill. Man Kills Parents in Murder-Suicide After Learning They Wanted Him Out of Their House: Police

Chris Harris
Updated
Son Murders Parents Who Wanted Him to Move Out

Police in Winfield, Illinois, say a 50-year-old man murdered both of his parents last week and then killed himself after learning they were working to get him out of their house, according to multiple news outlets.

The fatal altercation occurred May 20, the day before Clyde and Nancy Clinkenbeard, 76 and 77, were discovered dead in the Winfield home they shared for more than three decades, reports the Chicago Tribune.

Son Karl Clinkenbeard is believed to have attacked his parents sometime between noon and 1:15 p.m., according to local TV station WBBM.

All three died from multiple injuries sustained from an unspecified sharp-edged object, local station WLS reports.

Clyde and Nancy were taking steps to have Karl “removed” from their home, which is what police say “most likely” motivated the murder-suicide, according to these reports.

Clyde was a retired school maintenance worker and Nancy had worked as a school reading specialist, according to the Tribune.

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The morning after their deaths, upon noticing lights on in the home and the family dog outside, a neighbor glanced through a window and saw two bodies, according to WBBM.

Police reportedly said that they had been called to the Clinkenbeard residence the day before the killings for what they characterized as a family disturbance. That incident involved Karl and an unnamed relative — not his parents.

The Tribune reports that Karl, who was diagnosed as bipolar, had a criminal history including convictions for burglary, weapons possession, drug possession, driving under the influence and domestic battery.

He has been committed several times since 1989, according to the Tribune, and spent time in a mental health facility in 1991 following a failed suicide attempt.