Clark Harmening found dead at home


Published on Wednesday, August 27, 2008 8:18 AM PDT

Cathy Perfect
Kern Valley Sun

Long time valley resident Clark Harmening was found dead Monday morning. According to a family member, Harmening apprently died Sunday of a self-inflicted gun shot wound. He was found Monday morning in the garage of his home near Havilah.

At presstime, Tuesday, further details were unavailable; however, Harmening’s death may have been related to the circumstances of his stepson’s death last month.

Kern County homicide detectives were called out the evening of July 10 to the home of Dorothy and Clark Harmening, located in Havilah, for a report of family members in verbal and physical argument. Prior to deputies’ arrival they were informed that one subject had been shot and the suspect was still at the scene.

CHP officers and Deputies arrived and found Clark Harmening, 67, outside the residence. Inside the residence they found Harmening’s stepson, Richard L. Redenius, 41, of the same address, the victim of a fatal shooting. Detectives determined that Harmening had been in an argument with Redenius. According to Kern County Sheriff’s Department Lt. Dennis Smithson, one of the first members of law enforcement on the scene, the argument became physical and Harmening armed himself with a .22 caliber handgun from inside the residence and shot his stepson in the chest. Smithson, pointing to his chest, indicated to reporters at the scene that Redenius had been shot in the heart and died instantly, despite his mother’s attempts to revive him with CPR prior to the arrival of medical aid and law enforcement personnel. Detectives interviewed witnesses and placed Harmening under arrest for homicide. He was transported to the Central Receiving Facility in Bakersfield.

County records initially showed Harmening was in custody at the Central Receiving Facility, charged with first degree murder. He was being held with no bail and an arraignment date of July 14 had been set. He was released as charges had not been filed as authorities concluded the shooting was accidental. However, the possibility of the District Attorney’s office filing charges against Harmening remained.

Copyright © 2012 Kern Valley Sun

Comments

9 comment(s)

    Dr Carrasco wrote on Sep 27, 2008 2:10 PM:

    " I'm deeply saddened, I knew Clark and he was a very good man, full of anecdotes and very efficient in his work, I was looking forward to call him for additional work in my property when I found out, I know he is in a better place now.
    Dr Jorge Carrasco "

    Michelle wrote on Sep 18, 2008 10:28 PM:

    " As the girlfriend of "My sweet Rick" they both are very much loved and will be greatly missed and never forgotten. It was a very tragic situation. They both were the greatest men you would ever want to meet. This family has suffered enough and does not need to read or hear such insensitive remarks. "

    Friend wrote on Aug 26, 2008 1:46 PM:

    " As a close friend of both the Redenius and Harmening families, I found the comment left by "Sad" to be completely inappropriate. Clark's death was the most tragic of endings to the most tragic of situations. Both men were equally loved and are now equally missed. Perhaps those with snide and insensitive comments, should keep those comments to themselves. "

    alyssa wrote on Aug 25, 2008 1:12 PM:

    " I am clarks great neice and he was always such a nice and sweet person. I think it is VERY unfair that this newspaper published his address. This is infromation that was not needed to be in the article and i think privacy needs to be respected. "

    you are in our prayers wrote on Aug 25, 2008 12:00 PM:

    " though i did not know clark personally, his name is one I have heard before. (all good things)My son, however was a good friend of his grandson, Tyler,Our prayers are with you. "

    Shari Thomas wrote on Aug 12, 2008 9:00 PM:

    " My thoughts and prayers go out to your family in this time of sorrow. Just please know that you have people who truly care about your feelings, and try to ignore the incensitive few.
    God bless all of you. "

    ANNE wrote on Aug 11, 2008 6:56 PM:

    " SO--SO sorry to hear about Clark, I knew Clark in 1958 when he lived in Iowa. Take care all, and remember every body is thinking of the good memories.
    I too think the address should of been omitted. I haven't seen Clark in years as when he headed west, We headed east.
    You have my greatest sincerely, Anne "

    Jaime wrote on Aug 8, 2008 4:24 PM:

    " As the step-daughter of Clark, this article was inappropriate as my family is private in its internal affairs. The address should never of been published as well as the family should of been consulted prior to its publishing. Clark was a sweet, kind-hearted man in a bad situation and my family has suffered enough this past year only to have his name besumirched. Please learn to respect families privacy. "Freedom of the Press does not mean, that people have a right to know." "

    Sad wrote on Aug 8, 2008 3:16 PM:

    " Well, this seems to answer the question of guilt. It's still sad, but it seems like it was just too much to live with what he had done, even if he "accidently" poked a gun in his son-in-law's chest. "

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