Detroit Free Press

Man Charged in Mutilation Slaying

Tuesday, July 20, 1982

Section: NWS

Page: 2A

SANDY McCLURE Free Press Staff Writer



A 37-year-old Detroit man was charged with second-degree murder Monday in the bizarre sex slaying and mutilation of his friend, Robert Beckowitz, 33.



Beckowitz was shot in the head and stabbed nearly 100 times Wednesday in his gun-filled basement apartment in the 19300 block of Woodbine in northwest Detroit, police said.



Police said they were told by Beckowitz's girlfriend that, during the next three days, his body was cut into small pieces with a hacksaw and used for sex by the girlfriend and his friend.



James Edward Glover, charged with the killing, and Beckowitz's girlfriend, Jeannine Clark, 21, took pictures of their activities with the corpse, police said. The photographs, being held as evidence, are "too grisly to comment on," said Inspector Gilbert Hill of the Homicide Section.



Glover pleaded not guilty Monday in 36th District Court, where he was charged with second-degree murder, use of a firearm in the commission of a felony and mutilation of a dead human body.



He faces a possible maximum sentence of 10 years in prison if convicted of the mutilation charge, another two years if convicted of using a firearm during a felony and up to life if convicted of murder, the prosecutor said.



Judge William Hathaway remanded Glover to the Wayne County Jail without bond and ordered him to undergo psychiatric evaluation before his preliminary examination Aug. 12.



Glover, who lives in the 19900 block of Glastonbury, and Clark, who lives in the home on Woodbine, were arrested at the Woodbine address Saturday night.



Glover appeared to be heavily drugged when he was arrested. Clark, who left the house and contacted police Saturday night, told them she and Glover had stayed high on a mixture of drugs.



Police said Clark maintains she was being held captive. She had not been charged by Monday, but remained in custody for a parole violation in connection with a bank robbery.



Police say Beckowitz was killed just before midnight Wednesday night as he and his friends watched the "Benny Hill" show on television.



Beckowitz was described by neighbors and a relative Monday as a troubled man who was raised along with his brother , Gerald, in an orphanage. "He used to tell us about how he was beaten in the orphanage," one neighbor said.

Detroit Free Press

Woman Detained as Witness in Sex Killing

Wednesday, July 21, 1982

Section: NWS

Page: 3A

SANDY McCLURE Free Press Staff Writer

Memo: SEE ALSO METRO FINAL EDITION



Jeannine Clark, who says she was forced to participate in a three-day orgy with her boyfriend's dismembered corpse last week, was ordered held in police custody as a detained witness Tuesday under a $10,000 cash bond.



While she has not been charged in the bizarre incident, police are continuing to investigate her role in the sex slaying, Inspector Gilbert Hill of the Detroit Police Homicide Section said Tuesday.



James Edward Glover, 37, was charged Monday with second- degree murder and with mutilation of a body in the killing of his friend, Robert Beckowitz, 33, last Wednesday night.



"We are holding Clark to insure her appearance as a witness at Glover's preliminary examination Aug. 12," Hill said.



Clark had been in custody at Detroit Police Headquarters since she was arrested with Glover Saturday night.



Neighbors said she and Glover had been seen outside the house several times since last Wednesday. There were visits to a garage sale Saturday afternoon, one neighor said.



The neighbors said she did not appear to be a captive.



Janice Zmich, who lives next door, said her son saw Glover and Clark outside the house Thursday morning.



And she said she heard a woman she believed to be Clark outside the house about 3:45 a.m. Saturday, yelling to be let back inside.



Another neighbor talked about seeing the couple at a garage sale Saturday afternoon.



"Jim and Jeannine were at the garage sale twice on Saturday, once at 1 p.m. and once about 4 p.m.," said the neighbor, who asked that his name not be used for fear of retaliation.



Police say Beckowitz was killed just before midnight Wednesday night while he and his friends watched television.



Residents of the northwest side neighborhood said they have complained for years about the owner of the three-bedroom ranch-style home renting individual rooms at the home, which is in an area zoned for single-family dwellings.



"This house is always being rented to five or six people at a time," one neighbor said.



"We've called. We've complained. We even told (Police) Chief (William) Hart about it at a community meeting out here a month ago," he said.



"Somehow no one seemed to ever be able to do anything about it," he said.



City records show the house, in the 19300 block of Woodbine, was deeded in 1974 from Ronald Franchi to Terryl Hargesheimer of the 25300 block of Shiawassee Circle in Southfield, according to Donald Hayduk, the city's assistant chief building inspector.



However, other city records show taxes on the house are still paid by Franchi, according to the City Assessor's Office.



City building inspectors took Hargesheimer to court in 1975 for allowing illegal occupancy of the basement on Woodbine as an apartment, according to Hayduk.



After a year-long legal battle, a judge issued a warrant for Hargesheimer's arrest when he failed to appear for trial Oct. 31, 1975, Hayduk said.



"As near as I can tell (from the case file), the court issued a warrant for his arrest but never served it," he said.



"The warrant becomes useless after seven years, so I guess nothing will ever be done if he's not served before the end of this October," he said.



The Free Press was unable to locate either Franchi or Hargesheimer for comment.

Detroit Free Press

Woman, 21, Charged in Mutilation of Ex-Boyfriend

Friday, August 13, 1982

Joe Swickard, Free Press Staff Writer

Page 3A

Edition: METRO FINAL

Section: NWS



Jeannine Clark, being held as a witness to the bizarre sex murder and dismemberment of her former boyfriend Robert Beckowitz, was charged Thursday with mutilating Beckowitz's corpse.



And James Glover, who is charged with Beckowitz's slaying and mutilation, has been found mentally competent to stand trial, Thomas Bahen, assistant Wayne County prosecutor, said.



Clark, on parole for bank robbery, will be arraigned before Detroit District Judge Alex J. Allen, Jr. today on a charge of mutilating a corpse. She remained in police custody under a $10,000 bond as a detained witness in the case. Conviction for mutilating a corpse carries a maximum 10-year prison sentence.



Glover was scheduled to appear for pre-trial examination Thursday on charges of second-degree murder, mutilating a corpse and using a firearm in the commission of a felony, but the hearing was postponed until Monday on a mutual motion from Bahen and defense attorney Richard Clark. A mental-competency hearing also had been scheduled Thursday, but was waived. Bahen said Glover, 37, was found able to stand trial after a examination at the Recorder's Court psychiatric clinic.



Glover appeared nervous during the brief court hearing Thursday. He wore a curly wig to cover his shaved head and a snake design tattooed on the scalp.



Clark, 21, and Glover were arrested July 17 at Beckowitz's home in the 19300 block of Woodbine in northwest Detroit. According to police, Beckowitz, 33, was shot in the head July 14 as he watched television with Glover and Clark. Beckowitz was then stabbed more than 80 times, police said.



Clark and Glover then staged a three-day orgy of drugs, mutilation and sex, police said. The couple allegedly photographed each other as they dismembered the body, engaged in various sexual acts with the corpse and arranged Beckowitz's body parts in grotesque poses.



A law-enforcement official who saw the photographs called them "as bad as any I've ever seen. I've seen pictures of shotgun blasts to the face or decomposing bodies, and these pictures are just as bad."



Although Clark allegedly told police she was forced to take part in the gruesome activities, investigators said she went outside the home alone to buy more film for the camera.



Beckowitz's body was found cut into small pieces and wrapped in garbage bags in the three-bedroom, ranch-style home.



Police also confiscated guns, ammunition, knives and a pair of handcuffs from the house.

Detroit Free Press

Pair Ordered to Stand Trial in Mutilation Case

Tuesday, August 17, 1982

Section: NWS

Page: 10C

JOE SWICKARD Free Press Staff Writer



James Edward Glover and Jeannine Lynn Clark were ordered Monday to stand trial in Recorder's Court in the bizzare sex murder and mutilation of Robert Beckowitz.



The couple waived pre-trial examination.



Glover, 37, is charged with second-degree murder, mutilating a corpse and using a firearm in the commission of a felony for the July dismemberment of Beckowitz at a house on the 19300 block of Woodbine. Clark, 21, is charged with the mutilation of Beckowitz, her one-time boyfriend.



Police say the couple photographed each other over a three- day period as they sawed and cut apart Beckowitz's body and arranged the severed parts in various poses. Pictures also depict the couple performing sexual acts with the mutilated body. Beckowitz had been shot in the head and stabbed more than 80 times before the dismemberment.



The petite, red-haired Clark, wearing blue jeans, a red jersey and moccasins, sobbed and wept as she stood before Detroit District Judge Wendy Baxter and said she was prepared to stand trial on a charge of mutilating a corpse.



Clark, speaking in a barely audible choked voice, said, "I'm all right," when Baxter asked whether she needed time to compose herself.



Originally Clark was being held as a witness. But last Thursday, she was charged with mutilation, a felony carrying a 10-year maximum sentence.



Monday, Assistant Prosecutor Timothy Kenny said that Clark, on parole for a Downriver bank robbery, is no longer being held as a witness against Glover. She remains in Wayne County Jail under $100,000 bond.



Kenny said there has been no decision on whether Clark and Glover will be tried together or separately.



Clark glanced occassionally at Glover when he was taken into the courtroom, but did not try to speak to him.



He was limping heavily on a cane and wearing a curly wig to cover his head -- which is decorated with a snake and other tattoos. He also told Baxter he wanted to forgo the preliminary examination and move on to trial.



Baxter rejected a plea by defense attorney Richard Clark that a bond be set for Glover.



Kenny objected to the motion for a bond "because the presumption of his guilt is great."



A trial date will be set Aug. 23 when Glover and Clark are arraigned in Recorder's Court.

Detroit Free Press

Man Admits Guilt in July Murder, Mutilation Case

Joe Swickard, Free Press Staff Writer

Tuesday, November 16, 1982

Page: 2A

Edition: METRO FINAL

Section: NWS



"Helter Skelter," the television account of the murderous Charles Manson Family, was over, and "Benny Hill" was dealing out his dose of offbeat British humor. The real-life horror was about to begin in a ranch-style house on Woodbine.



It was July 14 when James Glover walked up behind Robert Beckowitz, a biker who wore his hair plaited in a single long braid, and fired a .45-caliber slug into the back of his head, setting off a three-day orgy of sex, mutilation and dismemberment, much of it recorded in snapshots.



At a pre-trial conference Friday before Recorder's Court Judge Michael Sapala, Glover, 37, pleaded guilty to charges of second-degree murder, mutilating a corpse and using a firearm in the commission of a felony.



A composed Glover, the snake tattoo atop his head now covered by his own hair instead of the ill-fitting wig he'd used in some previous court hearings, pleaded guilty in exchange for a promise that he would not be given a life sentence on the murder count.



Sapala, however, can impose a prison term of any number of years for second-degree murder at the sentencing scheduled for Nov. 30. Glover faces a maximum sentence of ten years on the mutilation charge, which would be served concurrently with the murder charge, and a mandatory two-year term on the firearms violation that must be served first.



Jeannine Lynn Clark, a 21-year-old charged with taking part in the mutilation, is scheduled to stand trial in January. Clark, was photographed naked and smiling as she took what appears to be an active role in the mutilations and sexual play. She claims Glover forced her to pose with the dismembered body of Beckowitz, her former boyfriend.



Glover, in a statement to Sapala, offered no explanation for the killing or for what followed. He shot Beckowitz as his victim sat on the sofa watching the Benny Hill program, he told Sapala. Then, using a saw borrowed from his parents, he cut up his former friend and stashed the parts in plastic bags that were then hidden around the house.



The pictures, recovered and developed by police, show the severed body parts arranged in various poses and depict both Glover and Clark engaging in sexual activity with the corpse.



A medical examiner's report said Beckowitz also had been stabbed more than 80 times.



Sapala ordered Glover, found legally sane by state psychiatrists, to undergo further mental examinations before sentencing.

Detroit Free Press

Killer Gets 30-50 Years

JOE SWICKARD

Wednesday, December 1, 1982

Page: 14C

Edition: METRO FINAL

Section: NWS

Recorder's Court Judge Michael Sapala, calling the case unequaled in his experience as a prosecutor, a private attorney and a judge, sentenced James Glover Tuesday to 30 to 50 years in prison for what the judge called a "48-hour frenzy" of murder and dismemberment.



Glover, 37, pleaded guilty two weeks ago to the July murder and mutilation of Robert Beckowitz. After shooting Beckowitz, 33, in the back of the head, Glover cut up the body while posing for photographs with parts of the corpse.



Jeanne Clark, the victim's former girlfriend, faces trial in January on a charge of mutilating the body. A smiling Clark, 21, also is seen in the photographs, apparently helping in the dismemberment and striking sexual poses.



Sapala, in an comment aimed at the Michigan Department of Corrections, said he was recommending Glover not be considered for furlough before his minimum sentence is served.

Detroit Free Press

Guilty Verdict in Mutilation

Joe Swickard, Free Press Staff Writer

Thursday, February 3, 1983

Page: 3A

Edition: METRO FINAL

Section: NWS



Jeannine Clark was convicted Wednesday of mutilating her boyfriend's corpse in a 3 1/2-day orgy of drugs and sex.



A Recorder's Court jury of six men and six women took an hour and five minutes to convict Clark, 22, after a three-day trial before Judge Michael Sapala.



Clark, who often had broken into tears during the trial, showed no reaction to the jury's decision.



Clark claimed she was forced under a death threat to pose for photographs with the mutilated body of her lover, Robert Beckowitz, who had been murdered as she held his hand.



Her claim was partially supported by the testimony Tuesday of James Glover, who pleaded guilty last year to Beckowitz's murder. "Right now, I'd say she didn't really stay of her own free will," Glover testified.



But both Clark and Glover said she could have fled several times.



Clark cried uncontrollably as she recounted how Glover ordered her to begin the mutilation by emasculating Beckowitz's body. "I went to do it, but I couldn't do it," she said between heavy sobs. "I told him to go ahead and kill me, but I couldn't hurt Bob."



Clark, who faces up to 10 years in prison, will be sentenced Feb. 17.



Beckowitz was murdered July 14 in his home near Seven Mile and Telegraph by Glover, who said he thought Beckowitz was responsible for burning Glover's home.



The 6-foot-4, 250-pound Beckowitz was killed by a single gunshot to the head. However, an autopsy revealed that his body, which had been cut into 14 pieces, had been stabbed 84 times after death.



Photographs found at the murder scene show a smiling, naked Clark apparently sawing off Beckowitz's head and striking sexual poses and committing sexual acts with severed parts of his body.



Prosecutor Thomas Bahen said the photographs, admitted as evidence, proved that Clark, 22, enthusiastically joined in dismembering her boyfriend. Bahen said Clark had many chances to flee, but chose to remain with Glover for 3 1/2 days before going to the police.



"No one is going to know all of what happened, but those photographs are graphic evidence of some things that did happen," Bahen said. "Look at her face (in the photographs). Do you see fear, revulsion, disgust? I don't think you will find those things."



Bahen also said that the spinal-damaged Glover, who must use a cane to walk, needed Clark's co-operation to maneuver Beckowitz's hulking body.



Defense attorney James Waske said Glover forced Clark to stay and to pose in the photographs, which could have been used to blackmail her into silence.



Clark said she had been holding hands with Beckowitz on a couch and watching the Benny Hill television program when Glover shot Beckowitz in the side of the head.



"Jimmy told me don't move and don't make any noise," she said. "He said I'd have to stay there a couple of days because he had to get rid of the body."



Clark said she did not protest because "I was afraid if I tried to say anything, he'd hurt me, too."



Although she said that Glover threatened to kill her if she disobeyed, Clark said she was allowed to leave the house by herself twice during the incident and that she returned both times. She bought film for Glover's camera during one of those outings, she said.



Glover, a snake tattoo on the top of his head barely visible through his cropped hair, testified he killed Beckowitz and "must have been" responsible for the mutilations and photographs. But he said he could not be sure because he was heavily drugged on synthetic opiates and amphetamines.



"It's a big puzzle . . . I cannot explain," he said.

Detroit Free Press

Maximum term in mutilation

By Free Press Staff and Wire Reports

Thursday, February 24, 1983

Page: 10B

Edition: METRO FINAL

Section: NWS

Illustration: Photo [not available with download]

Memo: SEE ALSO STATE EDITION



DETROIT -- Jeannine Clark, convicted three weeks ago of mutilating the body of her murdered boyfriend, was given the maximum term -- 80 months to 10 years -- Wednesday by Recorder's Court Judge Michael Sapala.



Sapala said he believed Clark to be "dangerous" and could find no extenuating circumstance to explain her behavior.



Clark, 22, was accused of helping dismember the body of Robert Beckowitz last July after he was murdered by James Glover. Glover and Clark photographed each other with the body parts. Glover pleaded guilty.