On May 15, 1991, Anita Clark, a 60-year-old woman from Phoenix, Arizona, disappeared after failing to show up for a church function. 

Her daughter, Cynthia Tomecko, reported her missing, but police could only act after 24 hours. 

“My mom knew right away there was definitely not something right,” Clark’s grandson, Randy Posey, said on Fatal Family Feuds.

Investigators found no evidence of foul play. But Anita’s Mercedes was gone, and her purse was still in the house, which raised concerns. As detectives worked the case they found a poisoned family tree. 

“The family feud with the Clark family was certainly generated by money,” said former defense attorney Greg Clark (no relation). “It fueled the dysfunction.” 

Anita Clark was a strong woman with “an aura” 

Anita always made an impression. Her grandson, Eric Posey, described her as having “an aura about her,” adding, “She had a strong personality.”

Raised in the San Diego area, Anita met her first husband when she was 18 and had two daughters, Cheryl and Cynthia, before divorcing.

Anita eventually moved to Phoenix, Arizona, where she became a successful real estate agent and met her future husband, Bill Clark, described by Greg Clark as “an extremely successful Arizona rancher.”

Greg Clark continued, “He had citrus groves. Tall … weathered, looked the part.”

Bill had been to the altar twice, the first time being in 1945. He and his first wife, Ruby, had three children, Jackie, Susie, and Jay. “The marriage ended amicably,” said Jineane Ford, former anchor for 12 News KPNX, AZ.

Then, in 1967, Bill wed his second wife, Carolyn, with whom he had two children, Billy and Margaret. It was during his second marriage to Carolyn that Bill met Anita. 

“Bill divorced Carolyn and married Anita a few years later,” said Jeff Sandler, former prosecutor for Maricopa County, AZ.

Anita and Bill clicked after tying the knot in 1980, according to Eric Posey. “Everything they touched would turn to gold,” he said. “They were making money hand over a fist.”

But 11 years into the couple’s strong marriage, Anita vanished. Why? Detectives called hospitals, checked to see if she’d been in a car accident, and monitored activity on her financial accounts.

Anita Clark’s stepchildren questioned by detectives

Investigators learned that Bill’s son Jay Clark, who’d suffered from depression and had various scrapes with the law, had recently committed suicide with a shotgun in Anita’s house.

Had Anita fled or harmed herself as a result? Charles Masino, then a missing persons detective in Phoenix, interviewed Anita’s analyst, who said that Anita wasn’t suicidal.

Investigators learned that Bill’s ex-wife Carolyn blamed Anita for the breakup of her marriage. They also discovered there was friction between Anita and her other stepchildren, Billy and Margaret.  

Investigators spoke to the two stepkids to understand the family dynamic. Margaret seemed “somewhat lost,” said Sandler.

Billy was a star student and athlete who enlisted in the Marines after graduating from high school. But when Carolyn was hurt in a car accident, Billy was discharged to care for his mom. He went on to work as a ranch hand for his dad and Anita, with whom he lived. 

Margaret told detectives she was at Anita’s house at 9 p.m. the night before her stepmother went missing to feed Billy’s dog because her brother was in Mexico. She said everything was normal.

Margaret also shared an angry letter from Anita to Bill. The discontent was due to how Bill parented Billy and Margaret. It took a toll on the whole family.

“Bill Sr. was essentially funding their lifestyle,” said Greg Clark. “They had minimal jobs. They were working off and on for Bill. Everybody was kind of at each other.”

On May 23, Anita’s car was found in San Diego, where a young man had sold the car to a dealership. The car would change the course of the case, as the young individual who sold it was eventually determined to be Billy Clark.

On May 24, police arrested Billy for illegally selling Anita’s car. He admitted that he stole Anita’s car but denied any other wrongdoing, said Masino.

At the same time, red flags arose around Margaret. Her friend had told police that on May 13, the night before Anita disappeared, she and Margaret had gone out for drinks, which contradicted Margaret’s claim that she was at Anita’s house that night. The friend also recalled Margaret making the disturbing remark that “Billy is digging a grave for Anita,” said Sandler.

Margaret was brought in to be questioned, at which point she claimed her friend misinterpreted her comments. But during Margaret’s interview, her bitterness towards Anita was very obvious. 

Detectives learned that Margaret and Billy played vengeful pranks, including teaching a parrot to say, “Anita is a bitch.” 

Besides resenting how Anita changed their dad, “they thought she was taking money from her father and donating too much of it to various churches,” said former Phoenix Police Department detective Robert Mills. 

Margaret later changed her story, saying she and Billy were at Anita’s house on May 13 around 9:30 p.m., not in Mexico. Billy confronted his stepmother about money issues. According to Margaret, they exchanged “a lot of words, but nothing happened,” said Sandler.

Margaret went on to claim that “Anita decided to leave, and that’s when he decided to take her car to San Diego to sell it,” Ford told Fatal Family Feuds.

Siblings charged in stepmom’s missing person-turned murder case

Detectives questioned Billy further, informing him of what Margaret told them. In a taped interview, Billy admitted to “confronting” his stepmother, who then physically attacked him. 

“She was just carrying on, throwing her fists around,” Billy said in the recording. “I just reacted. Proceeded to do something that had been taught in the military used to break someone’s neck… She was just dead.”

Billy tossed Anita’s body in her car and drove to the desert nearly 70 miles outside Phoenix. He dug a pit, dumped her in it, burned her body, and filled in the grave. 

Anita’s body was too badly burned to confirm the cause of her death. She had to be officially identified through dental records.

Billy was arrested for first-degree murder and car theft, while Margaret was arrested and charged with hindering prosecution.

In April 1993, Billy’s trial began with him pleading not guilty. He had come up with a shocking alternative version of Anita’s murder: “Billy tells the court that his confession was not true and that his father had killed Anita because he had discovered her stealing money,” said Ford.

Billy went on to claim he burned and buried his stepmom to cover up his dad’s crime. A witness for the prosecution testified that Bill Clark Sr. was at his ranch in Winslow, AZ at the time of the murder.

Billy was found guilty of second-degree murder and theft. He was sentenced to 30 years in prison. He was released in 2018 after 27 years in prison.

Margaret pleaded guilty to hindering prosecution. She was given a fine and put on probation.

Bill Sr. died of lung cancer in 2000. Before his death, according to Ford, he told reporters he still loved Billy and Margaret, but he refused to see them. 

Watch episodes of Fatal Family Feuds on Sundays at 7/6c on Oxygen.