CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – A Clarksville man has been charged with second-degree murder after police say he provided fentanyl to Matthew Maher, 20, who died as a result.
After being indicted by a Montgomery County grand jury in November, Zachary Allen Clark, 22, was arrested Dec. 5 on a charge of second-degree murder, according to court documents obtained by Clarksville Now.
“One little thing can cost you everything,” said Holly Maher, Matthew’s mother. “Matthew paid for that indiscretion with his life.”
Goofy ball of fun, battle with addiction
Holly and John Maher, Matthew’s parents, told Clarksville Now their son was the “goofy older brother, leader of his siblings and a ball of energetic fun.”
Matthew attended Rossview High School and played football for the Hawks. According to his family, he spent many late nights playing Xbox and gaming with his friends.
“He was so loving; everybody that met him just loved him,” Holly said. “He was a football player, he was an OK student because he was the class clown, always wanted to be with his friends and taking care of his sister.”
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But things with Matthew suddenly changed in 2023 shortly after he moved out of his family’s home and into an apartment complex near Austin Peay State University. According to Holly, one night Matthew invited some friends over to his apartment, and one of them gave him a laced pill.
After that, Matthew developed an addiction. When he moved back in with his parents, he confessed to them he had a problem and needed help. Holly and John sent Matthew to a rehabilitation facility on two occasions and after his second stay, Matthew came home to live with them under strict supervision.
“By all accounts, we thought everything was going fine,” Holly said. “It was like Matthew was back.”
‘He was completely gone’
On Feb. 25, 2023, Matthew left home to go to work. According to the Mahers, Matthew had been exchanging messages on Instagram that day with a man they later learned to be Zachary Clark to coordinate a drug deal.
After Matthew’s shift, the Mahers said, he met with, then-19-year-old Clark before coming home. That evening, the Maher family was winding down for bed when Matthew came in. “He hugged us goodnight, told us how much he loved us, thanks for taking him to work that day,” Holly said. “And then he went back there (to his room.)”
The next morning, Feb. 26, Holly woke up and got out of bed. As she was moving around, she heard a vent fan on in the back of the house. “I thought, ‘Oh, he woke up early,’ because we were supposed to wake up early and make breakfast together that morning,” Holly said. “I went back there and that’s when I found him. He was just completely gone.”
Following an investigation, Clarksville Police said that Clark provided the fentanyl to Matthew Maher. Clark is scheduled to appear in court for arraignment at 9 a.m. on Jan. 5 at the Montgomery County Courts Center.
Clark has a history of drug charge violations. He has been arrested on drug charges five times since 2022. When he was arrested on Dec. 5 in Maher’s death, he was on probation for drug charges that he pleaded guilty to earlier this year.
Pushing for change in Clarksville
“There’s hundreds of people that die every year from fentanyl in Clarksville,” John Maher said. “That’s hundreds of second-degree murders. Can you imagine if there were hundreds of people being shot and murdered here? There would be a task force all over that.”
“We’re trying to push for this to be taken much more seriously,” Holly said. “Because no matter what happens in this case, I’m not going to get my son back.”
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