By Cole Waterman
mlive.com
TAWAS CITY, Mich. — The saying goes that history doesn’t repeat, but it often rhymes.
A case in point: Clifford M. Farthing spent nearly 40 years in Michigan prisons for killing a man named William at a woman’s behest, then dumping the body in a secluded area. Given a second chance at freedom, Farthing killed another man named William at the request of a woman, and again hid the body for days in a wooded stretch of land.
Farthing is now returning to the prison system in which he’s spent almost two-thirds of his life. This time, though, he’s practically guaranteed not to walk free again.
Iosco County Circuit Judge David C. Riffel on Monday, Oct. 5, sentenced the 58-year-old Farthing to 37.5 to 60 years in prison. Riffel did not give Farthing any credit for time served, due to his parolee status at the time of his crime, meaning Farthing must serve the balance of his initial life sentence before he starts chipping away at his new term.
Riffel further ordered Farthing to pay $2,347.45 in restitution, plus $1,288 in fines and costs for a total of $3,635.45.
Farthing in July pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the summer 2025 shooting death of William A. Jackson, 42. In doing so, Farthing followed the example set by his 60-year-old codefendant, Dorene K. Schunk, who pleaded guilty to the same charge earlier in July.
Judge Riffel on Sept. 28 sentenced Schunk to 22.5 to 40 years in prison, with credit for 437 days served in the county jail. He ordered Schunk to pay the same dollar total as Farthing.
Schunk, also known by the surnames Rose and Mielke, is currently incarcerated at the Women’s Huron Valley Correctional Facility in Ypsilanti. Her earliest possible release date is in 2048, with her latest possible in 2065.
“This was a sad situation that would not have happened if it were not for the reckless policies of the Michigan Department of Corrections,” said Iosco County Prosecutor James A. Bacarella. “Mr. Farthing is a dangerous person and the MDOC should never have released him, especially to our community where he did not have any family or connection to the people who live here.”
When he pleaded, Farthing said that in the summer of 2025, he had been renting a room from Schunk at her property at 462 S. Chambers Road in Grant Township and doing handyman work around her hobby farm. Schunk was in a romantic relationship with Jackson and had been giving him a significant amount of money, Farthing said.
“She was tired of it and her solution was to solicit Mr. Farthing to kill him,” Iosco County Prosecutor James A. Bacarella has said. Schunk provided Farthing with a .38-caliber revolver to do the deed but did not pay him any money, the prosecutor added.
Jackson visited Schunk’s house around noon on July 11, 2025, and argued with Schunk. Farthing was also present and shot Jackson three times, killing him, he admitted in court.
Jackson’s homicide was not discovered for days.
A Michigan Department of Natural Resources officer on the afternoon of July 13 found a green 2003 Chevrolet Silverado abandoned in a remote section of the Huron National Forest in Oscoda County. The officer noticed the truck’s blood-soaked bed contained a rolled-up carpet and clothing, also saturated with blood, according to court records.
The Silverado was registered to Jackson’s Tawas City girlfriend. Police spoke with the girlfriend, who said she last saw Jackson about 9 a.m. on July 11 as he drove her truck, records show.
Michigan State Police troopers began investigating the matter as a missing person case.
Troopers showed a photo of the carpet to a former business partner of Jackson’s, who recognized it as having been in a pole barn on Schunk’s property. Police on July 15 executed a search warrant on the property and found several drops of blood in the pole barn. Farthing was present and troopers arrested him on a charge of violating parole.
The next day, Farthing notified police from jail that he wanted to talk. In the presence of his attorney, Farthing claimed that after shooting Jackson, he rolled his body into the carpet but was unable to lift the corpse into the Silverado. To remedy this, he used nylon rope to tie the body to a two-wheeled dolly, with which he then hoisted the body into the truck bed, he told police.
Farthing told police he drove the Silverado to the forest, followed by Schunk driving a Chevrolet Traverse. Farthing jettisoned Jackson’s body, abandoned the truck, and left the scene with Schunk driving the Traverse, he told police.
As police still hadn’t found Jackson’s body, Farthing agreed to show them where he dumped it. Officers took Farthing to where he had discarded the Silverado and, after about three hours of searching, they found Jackson’s body about 20 yards off a trail, concealed among ferns, court records show.
The Michigan Department of Corrections in April 2023 paroled Farthing on a second-degree murder conviction after he served nearly 37 years in custody. He was to remain on parole until April 2027.
That conviction stems from Farthing on Oct. 1, 1985, fatally shooting 55-year-old William Mellor. A hunter found Mellor’s body four days later in a remote area of Oscoda County.
Mellor and Farthing lived together at the time, along with an 18-year-old woman. Mellor had reportedly cashed a check for between $800 and $900 before the fatal shooting and the money was not recovered afterward, leading investigators to believe Farthing killed Mellor in a robbery.
Farthing was 17 when he killed Mellor.
The female roommate of Mellor and Farthing pleaded guilty to accessory after the fact and received a sentence of 1.5 to 2.5 years in prison.
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