The Murder of Kelley Clayton

On September 29, 2015, the quiet, wooded town of Caton, New York, was shattered by a horrific crime. In the middle of the night, 35-year-old Kelley Clayton was brutally attacked in her bed and chased through her home before being bludgeoned to death in her kitchen. Her husband, Thomas Clayton, a former semi-pro hockey player for the Elmira Jackals and a successful local businessman, returned home from a late-night poker game to find her lifeless body and made a frantic call to 911. To investigators, the scene looked like a home invasion gone wrong. But the only witness to the attack was the couple's seven-year-old daughter, Charlie. When asked to describe the intruder, her innocent words sent chills down the deputies' spines. She told them the attacker was wearing a mask, but was "about the same height as Daddy" and had "eyes like Daddy." What followed was a fast-moving investigation that exposed a web of secrets, greed, and infidelity. When a deleted phone call on a friend's mobile phone led police to a former employee of Thomas, a sinister murder-for-hire plot began to unravel. This week we cover the tragic murder of Kelley Clayton, the incredible bravery of her young daughter, and the shocking greed of a husband who thought he could execute the perfect crime. Note: This is our 10th episode, recorded during our early days of the podcast. While we were still finding our footing and recovering from the aftermath of Hurricane Irma, the story of Kelley Clayton is one we knew we had to share. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices