Path: bloom-picayune.mit.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!americast.com!americast.com!americast-post Newsgroups: americast.twt.news From: americast-post@AmeriCast.Com Organization: American Cybercasting Approved: americast-post@AmeriCast.com Subject: Homeless man charged in Houghteling slaying Date: Sun, 8 Nov 92 15:50:37 EST Message-ID: \SE A;METROPOLITAN \HD Homeless man charged in Houghteling slaying \BY Pam Weisz \CR THE WASHINGTON TIMES Montgomery County police still don't have a body, but they have charged a homeless man in the murder of Laura Houghteling, who disappeared three weeks ago from her Bethesda home. Police arrested Hadden Irving Clark, 40, about 11 p.m. Friday after test results showed that a fingerprint found on Miss Houghteling's bloodstained pillowcase was his, police spokeswoman Ann Evans said. The pillowcase was found in a wooded area near the Houghtelings' home in the 9900 block of Julliard Drive a few days after the 23-year-old woman disappeared. Extensive searches of the woods have revealed no further evidence, Mrs. Evans said. Miss Houghteling's body has not been found. Mr. Clark often slept in an area about two miles from the Houghtelings' home and had periodically done yard work for the family, police said. He is being held without bond at the Montgomery County Detention Center. Miss Houghteling's mother, Penny, and brother Warren have been vocal about Laura's fate in the past, even calling a press conference after police told them they believed she was dead. But they were reticent about the arrest. "We really don't have much to say. We're just happy that it looks like they're closer to solving the case," Mr. Houghteling said yesterday. Miss Houghteling was last heard from the night of Oct. 18, when she had a phone conversation with a co-worker but indicated no problems. She was reported missing the next day when she failed to show up for work at Holman Communications in Washington, where she had worked for six weeks. Her mother was out of town and her brother also was not at the family home when Miss Houghteling disappeared. Her father died several years ago. Police declared the case a homicide Oct. 23 after the bloody pillow and pillowcase were found. Sophisticated tests later revealed traces of blood in Miss Houghteling's bedroom, which had at first appeared undisturbed except for the missing bedding. Police have said they believe she was killed in her bedroom and then carried outside. The search for Miss Houghteling's body is continuing, Mrs. Evans said yesterday. Although police hope to find the body, Mrs. Evans said two murder cases in which no body was found have been successfully prosecuted in Montgomery County. Most recently, Gregory Tu was convicted in April of the 1988 murder of his wife Lisa, although her body was never discovered. At a memorial service last Sunday at St. Alban's Church in Northwest, friends and classmates of Miss Houghteling's from the National Cathedral School for Girls and Harvard University remembered her as a gifted, loving young woman who was a dedicated friend. This article is copyright 1992 The Washington Times. Redistribution to other sites is not permitted except by arrangement with American Cybercasting Corporation. For more information, send-email to usa@AmeriCast.COM