Richard D Clowers

William and Janice Brainard's and Dawn Waszo's Story

Child Abuse Charges Come To Light

On Friday June 30, 1978, William and Janice Brainard were planning on taking their granddaughter, Dawn Waszo, age 5, to a family reunion in Illinois. The car was packed and the Brainards were planning on leaving first thing Friday morning. The Brainards, who were in their mid-40s, had been given custody of Dawn after multiple charges of abuse were filed against her stepfather, Richard Dean Clowers. The Brainard family filed the charges after they discovered bruises on Dawn’s left ear, neck, buttocks and lower back. It also looked as if Dawn’s hair was chopped instead of cut. After the injuries were discovered, Dawn refused to go home with her mother and Richard Clowers.

After an investigation, Trumbull County Ohio Children’s Services substantiated the abuse. It was learned that Dawn had been forced to eat until she vomited, forced to brush her teeth while being struck in the head with a blow dryer, and that Richard Clowers had struck her on more than one occasion, and not for the purpose of chastising her. Louise Clowers, Dawn’s mother and the Brainards’ daughter, agreed to let the Brainards have custody of Dawn so she could work on her marriage with Richard Clowers in hopes of one day getting her daughter back.

A Vendetta Leads To Murder

As the Clowers’ marriage continued to deteriorate, Louise realized the only way she was going to get Dawn back was by divorcing Richard Clowers. Richard Clowers made it perfectly clear many times throughout the marriage that he blamed the Brainards and Dawn for his marital problems. After Louise filed for divorce, all Richard Clowers could do was talk about how much he hated her parents. Louise told police, “Richard had advised her [Louise] that eventually he would get even with them [her parents], and that he would make sure sure it would get done in a way that he would not end up in jail.”

At 9:30 a.m. on June 30, 1978, Henry Bontrager, an oil well worker, was making his rounds and was checking on two oil wells in a secluded, heavily wooded area. While walking on an unpaved access road, Bontrager spotted the body of a woman. The body appeared to have been hidden down a gravel embankment at the edge of heavy undergrowth. The woman was wearing a nightshirt and was nude from the waist down. Bontrager immediately called the police.

Police began searching the area. An hour later police, found two more bodies 400 feet deeper in the woods. The bodies were in a shallow ditch and covered in freshly cut brush. The victims were identified as a male adult wearing a pair of green shorts and a female child, wearing only a terry cloth bathrobe. None of the victims had identification. After seeing a news story about the victims, Louise Clowers called police and told them about Richard Clowers. The bodies were identified and William and Janice Brainard and Dawn Waszo. A warrant was immediately issued for Richard Clowers.

The coroner determined William Brainard was shot three times: once in the elbow area of the right arm, once in the upper right arm and once in the back. The first two injuries were determined to be defensive wounds. Janice Brainard was shot once in the head behind the right ear. Dawn Waszo was shot once through the top or her head at close range. The weapon was pressed so closely to her head the barrel impression was readily visible.

Three Consecutive Life Sentences

On July 1, 1978, after a statewide manhunt, Richard Clowers turned himself in to police. He stated, “I am Richard Clowers, you are looking for me.” Clowers was a mess. His shirt was dirty and torn and his jeans were frayed at the bottom. His jeans and boots were covered with mud. His hair was unkempt and he had scratches on both arms.

Clowers initially told police he would tell them everything and then refused to talk. In several interviews, which lasted two to three hours each, Clowers would not admit or deny guilt. He did tell the police where to find the Brainards’ car. The vehicle was so well hidden deep in the woods the detectives did not find it until they were practically on top of it. He also made the statement, “You don’t understand, I don’t mind going away for number one and number two, but they [fellow prisoners] will get me for the little one.”

When police found Clowers’ truck, they found his bloodstained work clothing inside. The blood on Clowers’ clothing was determined to be the blood of William Brainard. In addition, blood found in the trunk of the Brainards’ car was determined to be that of William Brainard. They also found Janice Brainard’s blood on the interior of the Brainard’s vehicle.

As Clowers was preparing for trial, he was advised that police would be talking to Karen, his ex-wife. Clowers immediately became withdrawn and requested his attorney. Two days later Clowers voluntarily and unexpectedly pled guilty to three counts of murder for shooting and killing William and Janice Brainard and Dawn Waszo. He received three consecutive life sentences.

No Parole

Richard Clowers is a cold-blooded triple murderer. He is also a child killer. Clowers has never shown any remorse and, over four decades later, he still torments the Brainard family by refusing to give any details about what happened to their family members. Releasing Richard Clowers would pose a tremendous risk to the community and would deny justice for William and Janice Brainard and Dawn Waszo. Based on the fact Richard Clowers premeditated and carried out the execution of three people, including the murder of an innocent five-year-old child, we believe Richard Clowers should be required to serve his maximum sentence of three consecutive life terms.