Authorities close the books on Clifford murder case

Three months ago, the weekend of April 1, two devastating fires occurred within about six miles and six hours of each other, both near Kingston.
Three bodies were found after the house fire. That was strange enough, but a few days later it was announced that all three of the people had died of gunshot wounds, not in the fire.
Since that time, extensive investigations have been conducted into both fires. Both cases are now considered closed.
Ostmark Church fire
First, the fire that destroyed the Ostmark Lutheran Church was reported at 11:18 p.m. on the night of April 1. By 11:37 p.m., firefighters from Litchfield, Dassel, Watkins and Kimball had arrived. They continued fighting that fire until about 7:30 a.m. on April 2.
On April 12, State Fire Marshal Casey Stotts conducted a thorough investigation of the Ostmark site. Assisted by several Meeker County deputies, they sifted through all of the debris looking for any possible cause of the fire, as well as for signs of foul play. None were found.
Officially, the case was closed with an “unknown” cause of fire. Stotts found no evidence, however, that this fire was anything but an accident.
There was also no evidence that the two fires were connected in any way, other than coincidental timing and location.
Clifford house fire
At 5:31 a.m. on April 2, a fire at the home of James and Brenda Clifford just outside Kingston was reported. The Dassel Fire Department arrived just 18 minutes later, but the house was already fully engulfed. Firefighters expected to find the bodies of James and Brenda, as both their cars were parked in front of the garage and it was expected that they would be home asleep at such an early morning hour. They were surprised, though, to find a third body – that of Brenda’s nephew Chad Pautzke. The tragedy that three people died shocked an otherwise peaceful community. But on April 5, the Meeker County Sheriff’s office released information that all three had died of gunshot wounds. That sent rumors and speculation whirling. Who had shot them? Why? They were such a loving, giving couple, who would kill them? Why the boy, too? We now have some answers to these questions, but they only add to the tragedies of that weekend.
What happened?
The Meeker County Sheriff’s Department cannot work with speculation and theories, only with the evidence found and analyzed by over 50 people in several agencies, including the County coroner and Sheriff’s office, the Minnesota Bureau for Criminal Apprehension and even the F.B.I.
Somewhere around 4 or 4:30 a.m. on April 2, Brenda Clifford set fire to her dream house, shot her husband James Clifford 11 times in the chest and abdomen with two .38-caliber handguns, reloaded and shot her nephew Chad Pautzke six times in the torso and head, shot one of her three cats once, then put a gun in her mouth and shot herself.
Based on the evidence, it is believed that James was asleep when he was killed, but that Chad was not. When asked why she shot James and Chad so many times, Chief Deputy Jeff Norlin explained, “It’s not like on TV. People don’t die immediately when they’re shot.” He believes that Brenda wanted to end their lives quickly.
It is known that Brenda previously carried a gun, and both she and her husband had trained in their use. She was obviously a good marksman, making 19 of 19 shots with 3 shells remaining in the gun.
The fire itself was too intense and complete for the Fire Inspector Stotts to learn exactly how the fire was started. It was an older farmhouse, so it would not have taken much to start a fire. Even before investigating the Ostmark site, Stotts and several Meeker County deputies had sifted through what was left of the Clifford home so finely that they found sewing needles.
They were actually able to account for all 22 shells that Brenda had in the two guns.
The big question: Why?
Again, the Meeker County Sheriff’s office can only work on facts and evidence gathered through investigation. After three months and many hundreds of hours, they now believe they have a plausible answer. Interviews of family members were included in this investigation, as was input from a forensic psychiatrist.
Several possible scenarios had been ruled out early on. Drugs were not involved in any way. There were no extramarital affairs, and no physical abuse. There also was no history of mental illness.
That weekend was their 18th wedding anniversary. But Brenda Clifford was under increasing pressure to keep her life – her family and home – intact.
Perfect is more like it. And her life was not perfect.
The Cliffords bought their dream home in May 1999 – a remodeled little farm house out in the country, a big yard with a creek running through it, and lots of trees and birds. Because of previous problems, including a bankruptcy in 1995, they paid a high price for this home. Brenda was working full-time in Buffalo and working evenings in the cleaning business she and her husband, Jim, had started recently. Jim was working less because of physical limitations, and he was drinking more. He was also known to be verbally aggressive. On top of this, Brenda felt it important to keep an immaculate house at all times, even when Chad was there.
Unable to have children, the Cliffords frequently brought Brenda’s nephew, Chad, to spend the weekends and holidays with them while his mother worked.
Chad was 7 years old and the only son of Brenda’s sister, Bambi. Just before the April 2 tragedy, Bambi had put an end to the Cliffords’ plan to have Chad move in with them on a more permanent basis. In fact, Chad was spending less and less time with the Cliffords. According to Sheriff Hirman, Brenda was getting more and more possessive and controlling of her nephew, and her sister Bambi was growing resentful of this. Brenda was trying to take on the role of his mother, even when Chad was not with them. (This past Saturday would have been Chad’s 8th birthday.) Brenda’s life was falling apart, in her eyes at least. Authorities believe that she planned the murder-suicide, and that the weekend of April 1 was the opportune time. The fact that James’ blood alcohol level was .14 and no alcohol was found in Brenda adds to this belief. According to Sheriff Hirman, Brenda had told one of the people they interviewed, “Some day, we’ll all go up in a ball of fire.”
By killing everyone together – even her favorite cat – she was keeping the family together, forever. In a news conference on Thursday, Sheriff Hirman speculated on Brenda’s thinking at the time, “If we can1t have everything perfect, we1ll just go to heaven today.”
Everyone who knew the Cliffords has described them as incredibly loving and giving. They often shared endearing words. They adored their nephew Chad.
And even though they didn’t have a lot of material possessions, they shared with those who had less. As good as they were, though, they were not immune to problems.