Man Who Shot Ex-Wife and Stabbed Two Young Daughters, including 11-Month-Old, Pleads Guilty

Texas resident Stephen Clare pleaded guilty to capital murder in the killing of his 11-month-old daughter, along with two additional charges related to the 2023 incident. Clare faces life in prison without the possibility of parole.

According to KSAT, Clare pleaded guilty to the following charges:

• Capital murder of a child under 10 years old
• Attempted capital murder of a child under 10 years old
• Aggravated assault with a weapon

The district attorney had earlier indicated that prosecutors would seek the death penalty, according to KENS5, but the plea deal spares Clare a trial and the possibility of being sentenced to death.

On April 10, 2023, Clare allegedly shot his wife, Mariah Gardner, and stabbed his two daughters, 11-month-old Willow and two-year-old Rosalie. While Willow died from her injuries, Rosalie and Gardner were critically injured and admitted to a health care facility, where they made a full recovery.

​Gardner said Clare argued with her about a gun that belonged to her before allegedly chasing her around the house while armed.

​The incident occurred at the family’s residence in the 500 block of Robinhood Place near Alamo Heights, Texas.

Clare reportedly wore a red jumpsuit and had his head bowed through most of the hearing on February 27 as he appeared before Judge Joel Perez of Bexar County’s 437th Criminal District Court.

​As the judge read aloud the terms of his plea agreement, Clare agreed and pleaded guilty to all three charges.

​“The man who vowed to protect us shot me through the face and left me to die. I crawled, bleeding to death — surviving on shock and adrenaline — onto a sidewalk because I wanted my children to be safe,” Gardner said in court, KSAT reported.

Gardner spoke to the television station after the court hearing and said she has been waiting for justice for three years. “It’s so surreal because it’s something that we’ve been waiting for for such a long time,” she said.

​“To hear him (Clare) say, for the first time in almost three years, that he is guilty, which, of course, we all knew. Just to hear it out loud was incredibly painful, and it reminds me of why we pushed so hard for so long. I’m very thankful for the outcome today,” she said.

​Gardner added that even the death penalty would not have been enough for the crime Clare committed. “It will never heal my children. It will never heal me from the trauma that I endured. Just knowing that he will be in the prison system for the rest of his life — however long that may be — is good enough for me, and we can move forward,” she said.

​First Assistant District Attorney Tamara Strauch said no sentence can ever “restore or erase the suffering endured from the loss of Willow”.

​“But we have achieved a measure of justice, and I know the family is eternally grateful,” she said.