This week we’re taking a look at the murder of Marilyn Sheppard, a homicide case that broke a quiet suburban town wide open and became the inspiration for a major Hollywood blockbuster. And no it‘s not Finding Nemo, it‘s «The Fugitive».
On February 21st, 1945,Dr. Samuel Sheppard and Marilyn Reese were married and living in Ohio. Two years later, they had their first and only child, nicknamed Chip. Sam was a respected neurosurgeon and the couple was believed to have a happy marriage. Their small suburban community was the kind where all their neighbors were friends and maybe a little too friendly.
On July 3rd, 1954, the Sheppards hosted their neighbors for drinks and a movie. Just after midnight, Sam fell asleep on the couch, and Marilyn said her goodbyes to the guests.What happened in the next few hours has been the source of intense scrutiny and is still a mystery.
At about 5:40 am on July 4th, Mayor Spencer Houk,a close friend of the Sheppards,woke up to a phone call from Sam saying quote,»My God, Spence, get over here quick, I think they have killed Mariylyn».
Houk and his wife Esther raced to the house to find Sam shirtless in his study holding his neck, seemingly in a state of shock. They called the police, and first responders arrived by 6:00 am.
From the police report, Marilyn’s body was found lying upwards,her face turned toward the door, beaten beyond recognition. She had over 20 gashes curved deep into her face and scalp, blood covered the sheets, and the walls were dripping with heavy spatter.Her pajamas were partially removed, leaving her exposed. Eventually the autopsy determined Marilyn’s time of death was «about 4:30 a.m.,». It also sadly revealed that Marilyn had been four months pregnant with her second child, also a boy. According to Sheppard, he had been asleep downstairs when he heard Marilyn shout his name. He ran up to the bedroom to find Marilyn being attacked by a «white form».
They fought, but Sam was hit on the back of his neck and knocked out. When he regained consciousness, Marilyn was dead and the white form was gone. Worried for his son’s safety, Sam ran to Chip’s room where he thankfully found him sleeping like a baby, literally. He then hurried downstairs to see the form exiting through the back door. He chased the tall and bushy-haired figure down to the shore of Lake Erie. Sam explained that he «lunged or jumped and grasped,» at the form on the beach. And then quote, «I felt myself twisting or choking, «and this terminated my consciousness,» end quote. When Sam woke, it was nearly dawn and he was missing his shirt and watch.
The only witness became the most likely suspect. With that, let’s get into some theories.
Our first theory, and the most popular one, is that the entire story was made up and that Sam Sheppard murdered his wife in cold blood. There was no sign of forced entry, and no murder weapon present at the scene. The desk drawers were neat, which would not be normal in the case of a robbery. Coroner Sam Gerber commented on the blood on Marilyn’s pillow, saying «In this bloodstain, I could make out «the impression of a surgical instrument». A weapon that would have been convenient for a neurosurgeon. In a bush outside, Gerber found a bag with Sam’s wristwatch, fraternity ring, and key all covered in blood.
In the days following Marilyn’s murder, investigators found out about Sam’s rumored infidelities as a possible motive. Evidence pointed them to a woman named Susan Hayes,a lab technician at the hospital. By July 20th, headlines read, «Someone is getting away with murder» calling for Sam’s arrest and conviction and «Why No Inquest? Do It Now, Dr. Gerber». Sure enough, later that day, Dr. Gerber called an inquest and required Sheppard to attend. The three-day spectacle was a media circus culminating with Gerber asking Sam «Did you and Sue Hayes at any time sleep in the same bed?» To which Sam replied, «Absolutely not». Following the inquest on July 30th, 1954, Sam Sheppard was arrested and charged with first-degree murder of Marilyn Sheppard.
The first trial began on October 18th, the prosecution relied heavily on Coroner Gerber’s damning evidence at the scene, along with the heavy media pressure to convict. Their last witness was Susan Hayes. Hayes confirmed the two-year-long affair, and when Sam took the stand, he finally admitted to the infidelity.
On December 16th, the jury found Sam Sheppard guilty of the second-degree murder of his wife, Marilyn. Sheppard received life in prison with the possibility of parole after 10 years, but the damage was far beyond his sentence. Sheppard’s mother died by suicide just a few weeks later. His father passed away just days after that, several years later, Marilyn’s father would commit suicide in 1963.
But this was only Sheppard’s first trial. In 1961, Sheppard’s brothers hired a new attorney, F. Lee Bailey, who got the trial reopened on grounds that it was poorly managed by the presiding judge, Edward Blythin. Bailey argued that Judge Blythin denied Sheppard’s defense motion to move the trial out of Cleveland, where there was no chance of a fair trial due to the biased press coverage because he was seeking reelection and used the spectacle for his own gain.
Popular syndicated columnist Dorothy Kilgallen, who covered the original trial, confessed years later that she had an unethical private conversation with Judge Blythin in which he told her he saw the case «open-and-shut,» «he’s guilty as hell,». Had she reported this at the time, Blythin would have been removed from the case.
By July 15th, 1964, Bailey’s petition that Judge Blythin failed to shield the jury from media, making them biased, was granted. The court ordered his release. Sheppard’s retrial began on October 24th, 1966. Once on the stand, forensic scientist Dr. Kirk analyzed that the blood splatter would have covered the murderer in the victim’s blood, but Sam only had one spot on his pants. Kirk also determined that much of the splatter came from the backswing of the weapon, indicating the murderer had used their left hand, but Sam was right-handed. He also noted that Marilyn’s teeth were found underneath her body, meaning she had likely broken them while biting her attacker. Sam had no bite marks or open wounds when he was examined at the hospital. But the most damning evidence was when Kirk revealed the largest blood spot found on the closet door didn’t match Marilyn or Sam’s,so was likely from a third person.
Which leads us to our second theory. That Sam Sheppard was telling the truth and his wife was murdered by a «bushy-haired white form». Three other witnesses testified to seeing someone matching that description. Richard and Betty Knitter told the police they saw such a man near the Sheppards’ home around 3:30 to 4:00 a.m. on the morning of the murder,which lines up with Marilyn’s time of death at around 4:30 a.m. This was enough detail to provide a forensic sketch.
But it was Sam Sheppard’s son, Chip, who would provide a name to a bushy-haired face. He had spent years trying to solve his mother’s murder, and he believed that the blood belonged to Richard Eberling. Richard Eberling had been the Sheppards’ handyman for a time, and had intimate knowledge of the house’s layout, including an obscure basement entrance. Additionally, he had been found in possession of two stolen cocktail rings that had belonged to Marilyn Sheppard. However, when questioned about the murder, he passed a polygraph test where he denied killing Marilyn, which cleared him of being investigated further.
in 1989, Eberling was convicted of the aggravated murder of Ethel May Durkin. Nine years into his sentence, Eberling gave a deathbed confession that he had also killed Marilyn Sheppard. One witness testified, «Eberling told me that he had killed her»and that he hit her husband on the head with a pail» and that in Eberling’s words, «the woman bit the hell out of me,».
But was Richard Eberling telling the truth?
In June 1966, the Supreme Court ruled that Sheppard did not get a fair trial in an eight-to-one vote. Sheppard was acquitted. His innocence, however, remains in question. While not guilty, Sam Sheppard was never really proven innocent.
But one thing is for certain. In the early morning hours of the fourth of July, Marilyn Sheppard was brutally murdered.And the truth of who killed her will remain a mystery.
TP Times 
So frustrating that we’ll never know the truth!
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