A Bellevue man accused of shooting and killing his girlfriend appeared in court for his preliminary hearing on Tuesday. David Clark is accused of shooting Brenda Henderson in their Bellevue home back in December. Clark claims the shooting was an accident, and a judge's Tuesday ruling shined new light on the case.
Judge Patricia Freeman ruled to send the case to district court after reviewing the testimony present in Clark's preliminary hearing.
"Mr. Clark stated he heard voices coming from a pile of clothes on the floor, thought he saw them move, so he took that gun from the dresser and fired a shot into that pile of clothes. During that interview detectives learned that Mr. Clark and Ms. Henderson had been hearing voices around the residence for some time. Mr. Clark and Ms. Henderson also believed those voices were responsible for planting child pornography on their computer."
Police were called to Clark's home for what was first reported as an accidental shooting.
"Mr. Clark repeated stated that he accidentally shot Ms. Henderson and that he would never hurt her. The available evidence shows otherwise," the judge said in court. "Mr. Clark stated he thought he heard something, so he came out of the bathroom and was surprised by an individual that he shot, he believed, in the arm. He then realized it was Ms. Henderson."
Henderson later died from her injuries. Clark's case will move on to district court where he will face Second-Degree Murder and gun charges. He remains held on a $2 million bond.
When Clark was arrested in December, he was out on bond awaiting trial on gun and domestic violence charges, and for violating a protection order. The murder case will be heard in March.