FULL DOCUMENTSâClark Harman's Death At Trails Carolina Ruled a Homicide
"The cause of death is asphyxia due to smothering," writes medical examiner.
Clark Joseph Harman died of âasphyxia due to smotheringâ at the Trails Carolina wilderness program, where he was found â[w]ith no pants on,â according to the North Carolina medical examinerâs office.
âThe manner of death is homicide,â the M.E. also concluded.
According to many, Trails Carolina is a âtroubled-teen industryâ program. Harman had been there fewer than 24 hours on February 3, when he died. (Further background on the âtroubled-teen industryâ and Harmanâs death is available in MartyG Reportsâ prior coverage here, here and here.)
Of note, the medical examiner wrote that Harman had âno suicidal [i]deation,â according to information gathered from his family.
Nor was Harman the first child to die at Trails Carolina. Nearly a decade earlier, 17-year-old Alec Lansing fell into a stream, broke his hip and perished.
Harmanâs autopsy report, medical examinerâs investigative report and toxicology report are available, below, as PDFs. (MartyG Reports has redacted the familyâs home address.)
MartyG Reports has requested, but has not yet received, the medical examinerâs reports regarding Lansingâs death.
Trails Carolina is part of Family Help & Wellness, an increasingly controversial umbrella organization encompassing many âtroubled-teen industryâ facilities across the nation. Its facilities have faced frequent allegations of abuse and neglect.
After Harmanâs death, Trails Carolina lost its accreditation, and the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services began the process to revoke its license.
Trails Carolinaâs spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment by WBTV.
The Harman familyâs representative Robert J. Higdon Jr. previously declined to comment and requested privacy for the family.
Hey Marty, I read the story before about this place. Thanks for the update. That's truly horrible, like most of what family courts in this country do to our children and our families.
In your mention of the other boy that died: I forget did he die due to exposure while trying to flee the place or was he with someone when he broke his hip and died? With this new revelation, one might derive a solid motive for fleeing the place so desperately it ended in his wrongful death - he felt his life was in danger.
Mike and I are at odds over PA, as I am suffering it, and he says it's whatever color unicorns he picks that day. Regardless I suffer from C-PTSD due in great part to it, so it's hard for me to grasp his argument, especially with all the victims constantly advocating for change and purely feminists and abusive women trying to cancel over 100 years of science and case law in multiple countries, because they want to destroy the nuclear family and enslave men. They also push most of the legislation and protections that actually cause more harm to men and children, yet it seems a lot of journalists take their funding from these people. It makes it hard to take much of what little is being said, seriously.
So this place is horrible. Ultimately it comes down to the greed of the court and federal funding provided the state for DCSS collections justifying the enslavement and alienation of men, 40% of whom want to be part of their children's lives, while less than 20% involved in custody battles have any. This place is just a tiny part of the cottage industry the judges have enriched themselves and their supporters with for decades. Why do we never attack the primary causes of family court corruption? Why are half the stories nutty conspiracy theories with no apparent mechanations or persons pulling the strings and PA being much less profitable than just colluding?
The problem with focusing only on a tiny target like this, is there are plenty of other cottage industries flourishing on tax dollars and ripoffs of families entire value to perpetuate conflict their own rules and ethical guidelines demand they not partake in for the best interests of their clients. Yet, every one of them ignores civil rights, civil procedure and acts with immunity provided illegally by friendly judges and the BAR. We have to attack the corruption at it's core.
How about we ask why every AG in the nation ignores family, probate and juvenile court corruption, and tells their reporting line to treat the reporters as mentally ill and not investigate?