Background: Stephen Clare appears in Bexar County, Texas, court (KSAT/YouTube). Inset: Mariah and Rosalie Gardner appear for an interview after the attack (KSAT/YouTube).
The death penalty is on the table for a man accused of viciously attacking his ex-wife and their two young daughters, with the case inching toward a trial.
Stephen Clare, 53, is scheduled for a status conference in Bexar County court on Tuesday, court records reviewed by Law&Crime show. He faces a slew of charges, including capital murder of a child under 10 years old, attempted capital murder of a child, and aggravated assault with a weapon.
According to authorities, Clare shot his ex-wife, then-29-year-old Mariah Gardner, and stabbed their two daughters, Rosalie Gardner, 2, and 11-month-old Willow Gardner, on April 10, 2023. Willow died from her injuries.
Clare and Gardner, who has two sons from a prior relationship, met in October 2017, Newsweek reported. Clare and Gardner's relationship grew: In August 2020, Rosalie was born, and in June 2021, the couple married in a backyard ceremony.
But Clare's behavior grew increasingly concerning, Gardner told the outlet. "It was as though he had two separate personalities," she said. "He had the ugly personality that caused arguments, said horrible things and was controlling, but he had a sweet side, too."
Court records show that in February 2022, Gardner filed for divorce. Not long after, Willow was born. A divorce decree was finalized in December 2022, but Clare was granted shared custody of their two daughters. Gardner explained that harrowing circumstances were present at the time.
"About six months before the attack, he'd been stalking me and driving past my house at least 20 times per day. I would go somewhere without the girls, and he'd say that someone saw me," she told Newsweek. "He mentioned that, if he had to line all our children up in front of a firing squad, he'd only save Rosalie. He'd previously kicked me out of the house when I was 36 weeks pregnant with Willow, and he'd 'joke' that he'd kidnap me. He said dark things about himself, too."
On the fateful day of the April 10, 2023, attack, Gardner reportedly said it was a usual day; she had picked up her children from school, helped them with their homework, and made them food. Then, as authorities tell it, Clare showed up at the house — and he was angry.
After entering the family's San Antonio home, Clare could be seen on surveillance footage chasing Gardner around the house, according to local NBC affiliate WOAI. He allegedly proceeded to shoot her five times before stabbing his two daughters. Gardner's two sons managed to escape unharmed through a window and find safety at a neighbor's home.
First responders were called to the home and later testified about what they saw.
"I applied pressure to help her, and I spoke to her to keep her breathing just to let her know that she's not alone," San Antonio Police Officer Veronica Butler said amid tears about Gardner, per courtroom footage taken by San Antonio-based ABC affiliate KSAT. "I really thought she was gonna die in my arms."
But Gardner did not die. She and Rosalie were brought to the hospital, and they both reportedly underwent multiple surgeries. "Rosalie had her initial surgery to kind of put everything back inside of her," Gardner told KSAT. "There was a lot of swelling and things like that."
Gardner added that she had "five or six broken bones, seven gunshot wounds, about a 10-inch incision on my abdomen." And while she and Rosalie — as of July 2023 — were expected to make full recoveries, the attack still loomed large.
"I will never get to hear my daughter tell me that she loves me," Gardner said of Willow, then focusing her attention on her ex-husband. "I don't know that there is a punishment severe enough for the crime that he committed. No matter what they decide, he should never be a free man again."
Clare was arrested after the attack about a mile and a half from the home. At his most recent court hearing last November, a Texas Department of Family and Protective Services worker reportedly testified that Clare told her he could not remember anything from the day of the attack.
Gardner has dedicated a lot of her time since her daughter's death to spreading awareness about domestic violence.
Court records do not mention Clare having submitted a plea in this case.
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