Clark pleads guilty to double slaying

PITTSBORO -- Barbara Turrentine Clark pleaded guilty today to two counts of first-degree murder for killing two elderly women who employed her as a housekeeper, striking a plea deal that averted a possible death sentence.

Superior Court Judge Howard Manning sentenced Clark, 42, to two consecutive life sentences in prison without parole for the beating deaths of Mary Corcoran, 82, and Margaret Murta, 92, in December 2007 at Galloway Ridge retirement community near Pittsboro.

Investigators said that Clark pepper-sprayed and beat the women with a cane after they confronted her about stolen and forged checks. The women's neighbor, Rebecca Fisher, then 77, also was beaten in the attack. Clark pleaded guilty to assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill in the beating of Fisher and to obtaining property by false pretenses.

At today's sentencing hearing, Manning said the autopsy photos of Corcoran and Murta confirmed this was one of the most brutal crimes he's seen in 40 years of practicing law.

District Attorney Jim Woodall announced earlier this year that he intended to seek the death penalty for Clark. But the prosecution agreed today not to seek a death sentence in exchange for Clark's guilty plea.

Courtroom observers struggled to hear Clark's hushed voice as she offered brief answers to Manning's questions from the bench. Her sister, Julie Stephens, said from the stand that she hoped Clark received help for her mental problems in prison.

"Wherever you are, I'm always going to be there for you," Stephens said to her sister. "My love is unconditional."