Was Born Evil’s Kristin Bluefin a real person?

Michael Bay’s Born Evil: The Serial Killer and The Savior dives into the sordid crimes of Hadden Clark, who went on to blame a woman named Kristin E. Bluefin – but her identity is more complex than you might think. 

It’s one of many questions to have arisen since the premiere of the new true crime docu-series on Max this week. Unlike other notorious serial killers (Jeffrey Dahmer and Ted Bundy have been done to death), the coverage of this case has been comparatively light. 

This is surprising given it’s ripe for exploration. Hadden Clark admitted to drinking the blood of his victims, he drew eerie artwork containing alleged clues of his crimes, he believed his cellmate was Jesus, and his brother Bradfield Clark also wound up a cannibalistic murderer. 

Born Evil Episode 4 delves further into the interrogation of Clark, with all law enforcement involved describing how difficult it was to interview him. As well as darting back and forth between topics, he frequently attributed the crimes to Kristen E. Bluefin. 

Kristen Bluefin was not a real person

Lou Luciano, now-retired FBI Special Agent, explains that during the interrogation, it became apparent that Hadden Clark “had multiple personalities” – and Kristen E. Bluefin was one of them, meaning she’s not a real person in this context.

As Born Evil delves into the Clark family history, it reveals Hadden’s claims that his alcoholic mother would often dress him up in girls’ clothes as a child. Although it’s unclear if this is true, this is a practice Hadden carried through into later life, often wearing a wig and womens’ clothing and underwear. 

While Hadden is currently serving two consecutive 30-year prison sentences for the 1992 murder of Laura Houghteling and the 1986 killing of 6-year-old Michele Lee Dorr, it’s believed he killed many more.

FBI agents and detectives sought to recover further victims’ remains through hours of interviews and intensive searches with Hadden, during which time he often referred to himself as Kristen. He signed his name as Kristen, and claimed that she was a “mean b*tch”, ate “raw” flesh, and loved “hiding stuff.” 

Luciano explains, “As Hadden started to demonstrate that his more forceful personality and more prolific personality was this woman, he began to become her more in the moment. He would shift back and forth… I think Kristen was probably his wall, his shield.”

The more time he spent as Kristen, the less information detectives were able to get from Hadden. During one of the sessions, Luciano decided to ask for a picture of Kristen, and he handed over a drawing of a blonde woman with blue eyes. 

ID

Luciano noticed it bore a striking resemblance to one of his peers, FBI Special Agent Desiree Smith. They decided to bring her in to help with the investigation, and it worked – as soon as she walked into the interrogation room, Hadden smiled and said, “You’re Kristen.”

So, even though this alter-ego wasn’t a real person, she certainly resembled Desiree, who was able to befriend Hadden to get more information from him. 

Mental illness or manipulation?

Despite the recognition that Hadden would flit between his alter-egos, all of the detectives involved in the case and Truitt highlighted a level of manipulation behind his actions. 

Though some of the information was true, he sent officers on many searches that took significant time and resources, only to lead them to a dead end.

Elizabeth Cornett, now-retired police officer at Montgomery County PD, comments, “I think he enjoyed looking down on all the detectives running around at his every whim, whatever he said. I think he enjoyed this cat-and-mouse game.”

Meanwhile, Geoff Clark, the youngest Clark brother who was never involved in any crimes, says, “I’m sure he had the greatest time dancing all those officials around, wherever it was, what town he’d got them to take him to look for bodies.”

“I’m sure I had a blast,” he continued, describing how his older brother enjoyed “screwing” with people. 

But what we do know is Hadden was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, as it’s what led to him being discharged from the US Navy. 

Dexerto spoke to Dr. Nick Bach, psychologist and CEO of Grace Psychological Services, about the case, who explained that it’s important to differentiate between genuine mental illness and potential manipulation.

“Clark was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, a severe mental disorder characterized by delusions and hallucinations,” Bach told us. “This diagnosis could explain some of his erratic behavior and the development of an alter-ego like Kristin Bluefin.”

Evidence for dissociative identity disorder is “less convincing”

However, even though investigators described Hadden as having “multiple personalities,” it’s unlikely he had dissociative identity disorder (DID). 

“DID is a distinct condition where a person experiences two or more distinct identities, each with its own pattern of perceiving and interacting with the world,” added Bach.

ID

“In Clark’s case, the evidence for DID is less convincing. His use of Kristin Bluefin might have been more about coping with his actions or evading responsibility rather than a true dissociative experience. 

“It’s not uncommon for individuals with severe mental disorders to create alternate realities or personas to justify their behavior, but whether this crosses into DID is debatable. Some signs point to possible manipulation rather than a full-blown dissociative disorder.”

Exploring the connection between Hadden and Bradfield

As discussed, Hadden’s older brother, Bradfield Clark, has been in prison since 1985 for murdering and cannibalizing his married coworker, Trish Mak.

Detectives note in Born Evil how rare it is for two brothers to be involved in completely unrelated homicides at around the same time – not to mention at other ends of the country. While Hadden committed his murders on the east coast, Bradfield’s took place on the west.

Though there was dysfunction in their upbringing, their younger brother Geoff condemns his siblings in the docu-series, describing the heartache he feels for their victims’ families. 

Bach also shared insight on Hadden and Bradfield’s connection, telling Dexerto, “The fact that both siblings engaged in violent crimes suggests a possible shared environmental or genetic factor contributing to their deviant behaviors. 

“While mental illness can run in families, it’s also possible that a dysfunctional upbringing or trauma played a significant role in shaping their actions. 

“This doesn’t necessarily mean the entire Clark family was predisposed to criminality, but it does indicate that certain factors might have contributed to both brothers’ descent into violence.”

Born Evil: The Serial Killer and The Savior is streaming on Max now, while the fifth and final episode airs tonight (September 4).

For more true crime news, learn about the Laci Peterson case, what you need to know about the Menendez brothers ahead of Monster Season 2, what happened to Worst Ex Ever’s Mei and Rosa, and the disturbing schoolboy9 documentary.