The Clayton Strong Case: Shirley Weatherley’s Murder and Idaho Coroner Reform

The Clayton Strong case refers to the prosecution of Clayton Ray Strong, a 73-year-old Texas man charged with the 2021 shooting death of his wife Shirley Weatherley in Parker County, Texas, who fled to Mexico, was captured there, and died of cardiac arrest in a Mexican jail in 2023 before he could be extradited to stand trial.¹ The case drew national attention after reporting revealed that Strong’s previous wife, Betty Strong, had died in Idaho in 2016 under circumstances that were never investigated, a failure that became the central example in a push to reform Idaho’s coroner system.²

The Killing of Shirley Weatherley

On August 7, 2021, family members of 72-year-old Shirley Barrington Weatherley found her body in the front yard of her mobile home on the 6000 block of Midway Road in Springtown, Texas, after not hearing from her for several days.³ Her son, Russell Barrington, saw drag marks leading from inside the home to where her body lay wrapped in plastic.⁴ The Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office determined that she had been shot in the chest and ruled her death a homicide.⁵

Investigators quickly identified Shirley’s husband, Clayton Ray Strong, as the suspect. The Parker County Sheriff’s Office said deputies had previously responded to domestic violence calls at the residence.⁶ In July 2021, Shirley had called police after a domestic dispute, and Strong was removed from the home. He was allowed back on August 4, just days before she was killed.²

Capture in Mexico and Death Before Trial

Strong fled south after the killing. Surveillance video captured him disposing of a firearm in Eagle Pass, Texas, on the same day Shirley’s body was found, and he then crossed into Mexico.⁷ Mexican authorities arrested him in Ramos Arizpe, Coahuila, on unlawful weapons possession charges. Around 11 p.m. on October 12, 2021, officials positively identified him and found the active Parker County murder warrant.³ Parker County Sheriff Russ Authier confirmed Mexican authorities reached out after discovering the warrant.⁶

Extradition stalled. A Parker County grand jury indicted Strong for murder in March 2023, but he remained in Mexican custody. He never stood trial. Strong died of cardiac arrest in a Mexican jail, and the U.S. Consulate General in Monterrey notified Parker County investigators. The families of his victims were not told until October 2023.¹

Betty Strong’s 2016 Death in Idaho

Before marrying Shirley, Strong was married to Betty Strong, born Betty Belanger Brock. They met online around 2010, while Betty’s first husband was terminally ill. After that husband died, Strong moved into Betty’s home and, her family says, isolated her from relatives and controlled her finances and communication.²

Between January 2014 and February 2015, police were dispatched to the couple’s Florida home at least six times for domestic disturbances and welfare checks. Officers documented that Strong threatened to shoot visiting family members, controlled all keys to the residence, and prevented Betty from seeing doctors. Deputies made referrals to the Florida Department of Children and Families on at least two occasions, but no criminal charges followed. Betty had no primary care visit between May 2013 and her death.²

In March 2015, Strong moved Betty to a remote part of Idaho County, Idaho. On December 14, 2016, he drove her body to a local hospital and told officials she had died of complications from Parkinson’s disease. Idaho County Coroner Cody Funke accepted that account, ruled the death natural, and authorized cremation. He did not order an autopsy, visit the death scene, or verify any medical records. Strong paid $2,310 in cash for the cremation.²

Betty’s daughter, Amy Belanger, learned of her mother’s death weeks later and raised concerns immediately. The family told authorities that Betty did not have Parkinson’s disease and pointed to Strong’s history of abuse. The county prosecutor and sheriff’s office initially said they had opened a homicide investigation but later concluded there was insufficient evidence to proceed, because Betty’s body had already been cremated.² Three months after Betty’s death, Strong married Shirley Weatherley in Texas.⁸

The Idaho Coroner Reform That Followed

Betty’s case became the central example in a July 2025 ProPublica investigation of Idaho’s death investigation system. The reporting described a state where 44 elected coroners work part-time with minimal budgets, no state funding, and no centralized oversight. Idaho ranks last nationally for autopsies in known homicide cases and third-lowest for autopsies in all deaths.²

Funke later acknowledged that the circumstances of Betty’s death were “peculiar” and “suspicious.” He said he had been inexperienced at the time and, with more experience, would have pushed harder for a thorough investigation. National experts told ProPublica he should have visited the scene and confirmed the Parkinson’s diagnosis before ruling the death natural. No formal disciplinary action was taken against him.⁹

A February 2024 report by Idaho’s Office of Performance Evaluations documented inconsistencies in death investigations across the state and confirmed the last-place homicide autopsy ranking.¹⁰ The Idaho Legislature then passed Senate Bill 1101 in early 2025, and Governor Brad Little signed it into law on March 18, 2025, with an effective date of July 1, 2025.¹¹

The law defines an Idaho coroner as a “medicolegal death investigator” responsible for certifying the cause and manner of death, clarifies that criminal investigations remain with law enforcement, expands the circumstances requiring a coroner’s investigation, and mandates that autopsies be conducted by forensic pathologists rather than other types of physicians.¹² The bill was cosponsored by all eight members of the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee and received 85 votes in favor across both chambers.¹¹ Senate Minority Leader Melissa Wintrow, a cosponsor, called the legislation a “first step” that addresses duties and training but does not fully resolve the oversight gaps identified in the watchdog report.

Advocacy by the Families

The families of both women have continued to press for accountability through the “Justice for Betty and Shirley” effort, describing what they say was a repeated pattern in Strong’s conduct: befriending vulnerable women, isolating them from family, gaining control of their assets, and escalating to violence. Amy Belanger and Shirley’s children had tried to warn Shirley about Strong before her death.⁸ The failure of Idaho authorities to investigate Betty’s death in 2016, the families maintain, was a missed chance to stop Strong before he killed again.

1
Yahoo News. PCSO Says Murder Suspect Died in Mexican Jail
2
ProPublica. Idaho Coroners, Clayton Strong, and His Wives’ Deaths
3
NBC DFW. Man Sought in Death of Parker County Woman Arrested in Mexico
4
Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Parker County Murder Suspect Captured in Mexico
5
CBS News Texas. Suspect Clayton Strong Captured in Mexico for Murder of Texas Woman
6
Fox 4 News. Man Wanted for Parker County Woman’s Murder Captured in Mexico
7
Dallas Morning News. Man Wanted in Woman’s Killing Captured in Mexico
8
Justice for Betty. Justice for Betty and Shirley
9
ProPublica. Idaho Coroner System Solutions
10
Idaho Capital Sun. Idaho Coroner Death Investigation Roles Reform Bill Passes State Senate
11
News From the States. Gov. Little Signs Bill to Reform Roles Idaho Coroners Have in Death Investigations
12
ProPublica. Idaho Coroners System Reform Bill