MISSOURI CITY, Texas — Court documents obtained by KHOU 11 News shed new light on the link between Karen Miles and Davante Clark, the man charged with capital murder in her death.
Skeletal remains found last week in Missouri City were identified as the 61-year-old woman who had been missing since Aug. 22.
The remains were found on Monday, Sept. 9, behind a church in a heavily wooded area near where Fuqua meets the Fort Bend County Toll Road. An autopsy determined she'd been shot to death.
Clark, 28, was arrested by Pearland police a few days after Miles was last heard from. They initially thought he was driving a stolen car from Arkansas but determined the license plate had been altered and he was actually driving Miles' vehicle. Police believed it was stolen from the Missouri City apartment complex where she lived.
Miles' family had never heard of Clark and didn't understand his connection to the victim. However, the accused killer's girlfriend provided answers when interviewed by detectives. They tracked her down through recorded jailhouse conversations with Clark.
The woman said she moved to Missouri City from Arkansas in July after reconnecting with Clark. She said they were homeless and had been living in her car while she worked delivering groceries. The woman told investigators that they sometimes parked at the Hometowne Senior Living Apartments where Miles lived because it was well-lit and they felt safe.
The woman said that on Aug. 22, Clark woke up around 5:30 a.m. and she saw him running toward an SUV. She claimed he left in the SUV and later returned. But MCPD detectives used Flock license plate readers and determined that her vehicle followed the SUV to the place where Miles' remains were found.
Miles' family said if Clark wanted her car, he didn't have to kill her for it.
"There was no need for that. If he would have asked her for whatever he wanted, she would have gave it to him," Patricia Evans told us. "That is the most devastating part -- you abduct her and throw her in deep woods like trash -- she was not that. She was a human being."
Now, family members are waiting for justice and hoping to get their day in court to go face-to-face with Clark.
"I want to look at him. It's inhumane and he will probably have no remorse," Evans said. "Unimaginable and ugly. What kind of monster do you have to be to do something like that to a beautiful soul?"
According to court documents, Texas EquuSearch considers Clark a person of interest in two stolen vehicle cases involving missing people.
The family of Destin Henderson, who's been missing since October 2023, said they've always suspected Clark was involved in his disappearance. His sister told us the two were friends.
“The day my brother went missing, he told me he was going over to Davante's house to help him move,” Le Annessa Scipio said.
Clark also has previous charges for evading arrest and driving a car without permission, according to authorities.