Bio

Clarence David Hill was born on July 25, 1948. By 1989, he was living in a small motor home on property owned by Dale Edmundson in Mohave County, Arizona. Hill and Edmundson knew each other through that living arrangement. Court records stated that the two men had argued before the killing, including a dispute about money Hill believed he was owed for work around Edmundson’s property. Hill also had a prior violent felony conviction from Colorado, which later became an aggravating factor at sentencing.

Murder Story

On June 18, 1989, a burning body was found at a dump area in Mohave County, Arizona. The victim was identified as Dale Edmundson. Investigators found evidence that Edmundson had been alive when the fire was started and died from smoke and gas inhalation.

Authorities focused on Clarence David Hill because he lived on Edmundson’s property. Investigators said shoeprints and tire tracks connected Hill and Edmundson’s truck to the scene. Police also found more than $200 in Hill’s wallet, while Edmundson’s wallet was found without money.

Hill was convicted of first-degree murder on December 29, 1989. On June 5, 1990, he was sentenced to death after the court found aggravating factors including prior violent conviction, pecuniary gain, and that the murder was especially cruel, heinous, or depraved. The Arizona Supreme Court affirmed his conviction and sentence in 1993.

Years later, DNA testing changed the case. Testing showed that blood found on Hill’s clothing and a bedsheet was not Edmundson’s blood. In April 2005, a Mohave County judge overturned Hill’s conviction, finding that the DNA evidence would likely have affected the jury’s decision. Hill later accepted a plea agreement that allowed him to enter a plea to second-degree murder and receive time served. He was released on October 12, 2005, after nearly 16 years on death row.

Hill died later in October 2005, reportedly 12 days after his release.