Byron Black

This is one of those crimes that just seems especially senseless and while we can argue today that domestic issues are not taken as seriously as they should by law enforcement that in the 1980's it was worse. I have blogged about several cases that involved domestic issues in which no matter what the abused (overwhelmingly, although not exclusively women) person tried to do to prevent a tragedy they had been unsuccessful. Now, I will say that nothing in my research necessarily indicated that the adult victim in this case, Angela Clay, had sought help through legal means, that does not necessarily mean law enforcement were not aware or had a duty. Also to be fair I have posted cases before from this era in which I have stated that at least for a time period when it came to domestic violence the laws almost went too far, giving the alleged abused person, more power than they should have as not all cases are always as they seem. It appears today in 2020 we have backed off of some of them but then again I feel we may have gone too far the other way once again. It does not appear to be a “happy” middle when it comes to these cases.

Angela Clay and her husband Bennie had separated in 1986. They had two daughters, Latoya and Lakeisha. Some time after this Angela began dating Byron Black and lived in Nashville Tennessee. In December of 1986 there was a dispute between Bennie Clay and Byron Black. According to reports Black fired three times at Bennie outside Angela's home. Two of the bullets hit Bennie, one in the right foot and one in the back of his left arm where it traveled to his collar bone. He was able attempt to run away but Black caught up to him and while he was on the ground had pointed the gun at him. Angela had come in and was able to stop Black from shooting Bennie again and it was she who took Bennie to the hospital. The police were called and Byron Black he got a two year sentence for the shooting but apparently he received weekend furloughs.

It is unclear exactly what happened just prior to March 28, 1988 but Bennie Clay claims that he and Angela were attempting to reconcile and there were times in which she was seeing both men. It appears that Byron Black must have known this too. In October of 1987 Black had kicked in Angela's door when she would not let him inside but it appears that the police were not notified or at the very least nothing was done about it. Sometime around the early part of March a neighbor heard him yelling and threatening to kick the door in again. The same neighbor heard the couple arguing on Friday the 25^th.

On Sunday March 27^th Angela's sister had borrowed her car and apparently had cared for her children while Angela worked at a local hospital. Her sister was intending to pick Angela up from work but she found Byron Black there also waiting for Angela to get off work. Angela apparently rode with Black and the two vehicle's went to Angela's mothers home. Once there Angela's mother said that both Angela and Black stayed just a little while before leaving her home around 11 pm, presumably heading to Angela's apartment in their respective vehicles. The following day Angela's mom and sisters repeatedly tried to reach her on the phone and failed. They even went to her home earlier in the day only to return about nine that night when they decided to call the police.

The police arrived about 9:30 that evening and found the front door locked and there were no signs of forced entry. However, Angela's car was there and other things were suspicious enough for them to believe they needed to gain entry into the home through a window. Once inside they found the bodies of twenty-nine year old Angela, nine year old Latoya and six year old Lakeisha. Angela and Latoya were found in the master bedroom of the home. Angela's body was on the bed and she had a gunshot wound to the top of her head. A coroner would later say that she likely fell unconscious nearly immediately and died quickly. LaToya would be found part way on and off the bed. She had been shot through the neck and chest. It was believed she likely died between three and ten minutes later. Lakeisha was found in the second bedroom on the floor next to her bed. She had been shot twice, once in the chest and once in the pelvic area. Marks on her arms indicated that she had attempted to protect herself. The coroner believed she died between five and thirty minutes after being shot. The telephone from the master bedroom was found in the hallway and the kitchen phone was found in the bedroom, fingerprints were taken from the phones.

Investigators went to interview Byron Black around midnight that night. He had been allowed to be out from the Friday prior at about 5:30 until his return Monday evening around 5:15. The first set of investigators said that when he was told of the murders he appeared upset and shaken but when other investigators entered the room his demeanor drastically changed and he seemed indifferent to the murders. He told the investigators that he had not seen Angela since about 10:00 Sunday night when he dropped her off at her mothers. This already did not coincide with Angela's mother's story.

Several important things came out in the investigation. One was the information that the upstairs neighbor provided about the arguments between the couple. She also reported that around one in the morning of the 28^th she and her daughter had been awakened by “four loud noises.” What I do find interesting is that these “noises” were presumably the four gunshots that were fired in the apartment and it sounds as if the police were not called. I saw nothing that indicated that any sort of silencer was used to mask the sounds. This could be a testament as to the neighborhood and what they were used to hearing I suppose but even still I find it odd. The telephones that had been retrieved from the home and fingerprinted allegedly only bore only the prints of Byron Black. While this is interesting I am unsure how much weight it could have carried. It was known that he was often in the home so his prints being there would not be unusual. In fact, I find it interesting that only his were found. But, what likely sealed the deal for investigators was the fact that ballistics showed that the bullets fired that early morning had come from the same gun that was used to shoot Bennie Clay in December of 1986.

Byron Black was convicted on three counts of first degree murder and one count of burglary in 1989. He was given two life sentences for the murders of Angela and Latoya and a death sentence for the murder of six year old Lakeisha. He was also given a sentence of fifteen years for burglary. It is unclear if he received the death penalty in Lakeisha's murder due to her age, the fact she was shot multiple times as compared to the others or because it was apparent that she had been awake as she attempted to protect herself. Prosecutors claim it was all done in a jealous rage.

I found three appeals, one in 1991, one in 1998 and one in 2005, all of which were denied. The 2005 appeal challenged his mentality rate and claimed he was “mentally retarded and thus ineligible for the death penalty.” All appeals were denied.

As I mentioned in an earlier blog, in September of 2019 the Attorney General of Tennessee approached the courts asking for execution dates for nine individuals on death row. Byron Black was one of those nine, and is one of only two in which as far as I can tell that have been given dates. As of now his execution is scheduled for October 8, 2020.

I have often spoke of my feelings of the death penalty. I believe this is one of the cases that not only warrant it but also leaves little doubt that Byron Black was the perpetrator. For me I believe the ballistic evidence was what did it. Regardless of the relationship between Byron and Angela or even whether Angela was dating both Byron and her estranged husband at the same time did not only not warrant her own death, but definitely did not warrant the deaths of her children. They were likely killed simply in an attempt to leave no witnesses.

Tennessee seems to be taking an active roll in having executions carried out so it is not out of the realm of possibilities that Byron Black will in fact be put to death in October.