The Case of Dr. Samuel Sheppard
The State Versus Sam Sheppard
At 9 a.m. on Oct. 18, 1954, Common Pleas Judge Edward J. Blythin called the case of State of Ohio vs. Sam H. Sheppard. Born in Wales 70 years earlier, he had served in the Cleveland Law Department and was law director when Republican Mayor Harold H. Burton was elected U.S. senator in 1940.
According to law that made Blythin mayor, but he was defeated for the post a year later by Democrat Frank Lausche. In 1948 he was elected judge. The luck of the draw put him in charge of the high-profile murder trial three weeks before he faced voters for re-election.
His reputation was as a careful and patient judge. "Slim, silver-haired and stern-visaged" was Paul Holmes' description from the Chicago Tribune. Holmes was one of many out-of-town reporters sent to cover the trial and his 1961 book about it was tomake him a figure in the events.
The first question facing Blythin was where to put all the reporters. He set up a table inside the bar — the rail that separates the judge, jury and lawyers from spectators — for local reporters and assigned most of the seats in the cramped courtroom to out-of-town reporters. A nearby room was turned over to radio reporters.
Sweeney (middle). (Cleveland Press)
On one side of the trial table sat Assistant County Prosecutor John Mahon, who was himself on the ballot for a judgeship in three weeks. Assisting him were Saul Danaceau and Thomas Parrino, who would both later use the public exposure to win their own judgeships.
Assisting Corrigan were Fred Garmone along with Arthur Petersilge, the Sheppard family lawyer; and William Corrigan Jr., fresh out of law school.
The first order of business was Corrigan's motion for postponement of the trial and a change of venue because of prejudice against the defendant stirred up by the news coverage.
Blythin ruled the lawyers should first make an attempt to seat a jury from the panel of 64 veniremen — who were now celebrities in their home town, since the newspapers had printed their names and addresses. The two sides managed to agree on 12 jurors in less than two weeks without either side using all of its peremptory challenges.
Blythin had been re-elected and Mahon was a judge-elect when the trial began on Nov. 4. The first witness, Deputy Coroner Lester Adelson, described the autopsy of Marilyn Sheppard's body and showed gruesome pictures of the blood-spattered death scene and her battered face. Sheppard would not look at them.
Corrigan got Adelson to admit he had made no analysis of the contents of her stomach, did not make microscopic study of the wounds and did not try to determine if she had been raped.
Don and Nancy Ahern told of their dinner with the Sheppards on July 3. Under Mahon's questioning, Mrs. Ahern said Marilyn Sheppard had told her about marital difficulties, including Sam's purchase of a watch for Susan Hayes, and she said a friend had said they were considering a divorce. The judge allowed that to stand as an exception to the hearsay rule.
Spencer and Esther Houk told of their early morning call from Sam Sheppard and what they found when they arrived at his house. Mrs. Houk went further, saying there had been "`rows" between the Sheppards. Patrolman Drenkhan identified photos of the murder scene. Chief Eaton and young Larry Houk told of their roles.
Dr. Gerber was the star witness. He described his extensive qualifications and meticulously went over his examination of the scene, his questioning of Sheppard and what he called lack of cooperation by the Sheppard family. His most damning observation came when he described the bloody pillowcase from the murder bed.
"In this bloodstain I could make out the impression of a surgical instrument," he said.
Gerber did not say what kind of surgical instrument it could have been and didn't produce any surgical instrument which could have made the mark. The closest he came was in response to a question from the judge. He said "I meant that the impression could only have been made by a surgical instrument."
(CORBIS)
Detective Schottke read the statement Sheppard gave police July 10, including the last question. Q. "Have you been treated fairly during the course of this questioning?" A. "Yes, absolutely."
Schottke said Sheppard's story had changed in the first few days, but Deputy Sheriff Carl Rossbach, who testified later, surprised the prosecution by saying it had been substantially the same.
Dr. Lester Hoverston, a college classmate of Sheppard's, had been a houseguest of the Sheppards in early July but was in Akron on the night of the murder. He testified that Sheppard had told him he was thinking of divorcing Marilyn.
He also said that in July after the murder he overheard Dr. Richard in the hospital tell his brother: "Let's go over the sequence of events so you can get your story straight."
Dr. Hexter, the neurologist who had been called in by Gerber to examine Sheppard on July 5, described his findings. On cross-examination, he acknowledged he did notice an absence of thigh and abdominal reflexes but minimized their significance.
Detective Michael Grabowski from the Scientific Investigation Unit and Mary Cowan, the coroner's chief medical technologist, testified about the physical evidence, impressing the jury with their description of their scientific tests.
After moving quickly through several more witnesses, the prosecution called its star witness: Susan Hayes. She was on the stand only a little over an hour; prosecution and defense were both gentle in their questions. The answers, however, were damning to the defendant at whom she did not look directly.
She told about trysts above the Sheppard Clinic two years earlier, gifts she received from him and his talk of getting a divorce. She also said that Dr. Sheppard had called her earlier in 1954 when he was in Los Angeles for an osteopathic convention. He took her to a party at the home of Dr. Arthur Miller, where he was staying.
Q. And where did you remain that night?
A. At the Millers'.
Q. And where did Dr. Sheppard spend the night?
A. At the Millers'.
Q. Did you occupy the same room?
A. Yes.
Q. The same bed?
A. Yes.
Garmone had few questions on cross-examination. She was excused and escorted by bailiffs past the popping flash bulbs.
The prosecution rested.