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Title: Jury accepts insanity plea in '08 shooting
Source: Gwinnett Daily Post, August 20th, 2009
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Jury accepts insanity plea in '08 shooting
By Josh Green
Staff Writer
LAWRENCEVILLE - In letters from a mental health facility, Carol Marie Clark insists to court officials the March 11, 2008, shooting of Paul Kodrowski was perpetrated by enthusiasts of Dungeons and Dragons, a fantasy role-playing game.
Kodrowski, who survived, was shot multiple times in the face with a .357 magnum as he retrieved a newspaper from his driveway that morning. He and Clark both worked in the distribution department of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution but barely knew each other, authorities said.
Charged with aggravated assault and weapons possession, Clark was scheduled to stand trial for the attack until a jury declared her mentally unfit for trial Thursday. In court documents, Clark, 48, maintains she's innocent and that a trial would clear her name.
She also blames the gaming group for killing her brother, Verner Clark, whose death was ruled a suicide in Cobb County several years ago.
An Emory University psychiatrist who interviewed Clark determined she exhibited symptoms of paranoia and schizophrenia. "She presents a substantial risk of imminent harm to others," one examiner wrote.
Gwinnett District Attorney Danny Porter has ordered Clark returned to Georgia Regional Hospital in Decatur, where she's been treated for more than a year. A status hearing for the case is scheduled Nov. 9 in Gwinnett Superior Court.
Clark's attorney, Charles Wrinkle, did not return a call seeking comment Wednesday.
At the time, police said Kodrowski didn't recognize the person who shot him though they spoke outside his Rafington Drive home before shots rang out.
A witness described Clark's car leaving the scene from an adjacent neighborhood. She was arrested three days later.
Kodrowski was not available for comment Wednesday. A woman who answered the phone at his residence said he's recovered enough to return to work.