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Dr. Sam Sheppard: Not Guilty, but Not Innocent

Background Information. Dr. Sam Sheppard was a prominent physician in the Cleveland area in the early 1950'sThe Sheppard family was very wealthy and very well-known due to their acclaim as physiciansDr. Sam and his wife Marilyn lived in a large house along Lake ErieDr. Sam was well-respected and

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Dr. Sam Sheppard: Not Guilty, but Not Innocent

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    1. Dr. Sam Sheppard: Not Guilty, but Not Innocent A presentation by: Jeremy Ross & Greg Grover

    2. Background Information Dr. Sam Sheppard was a prominent physician in the Cleveland area in the early 1950’s The Sheppard family was very wealthy and very well-known due to their acclaim as physicians Dr. Sam and his wife Marilyn lived in a large house along Lake Erie Dr. Sam was well-respected and well-liked by the entire Cleveland area community and because of this his life was often under public scrutiny

    3. The Sheppards and Their Home

    4. The Crime Marilyn Sheppard was found bludgeoned to death during the early morning of July 4th, 1954 When police arrived on the scene, they found the house in shambles and a gruesome scene in the bedroom Obviously, Dr. Sam became the primary suspect due to his presence at the house

    5. The Murder Scene

    6. Dr. Sam’s Story After entertaining dinner guests, Sam fell asleep on the downstairs couch and awoke to Marilyn’s screams He went upstairs to discover a figure in a light garment who he grappled with before being knocked out Sam woke up and found Marilyn’s body on the bed before he ran downstairs and chased a man out of the house before fighting him again and getting knocked out again

    7. The “Investigation” Dr. Sam Sheppard was arrested on July 30th and indicted for murdering his wife on August 17th After his arrest, Sam was denied an attorney for several days and was forcibly interviewed by the police Dr. Samuel Gerber was the Cuyahoga County Coroner at the time, and as such became the lead investigator

    8. The Lead “Investigator

    9. Marilyn’s Injuries Marilyn had suffered 35 wounds, including 15 blows to the head Dr. Gerber concluded that she died from the blows to her head which led to hemorrhaging

    10. Blood Evidence Detectives used luminol, benzidine tests, and blacklight probe to find blood spots As many as 45 spots were found on the steps from the bedroom to the kitchen and from the kitchen to the basement Despite all of this blood evidence, no blood spatter analysis nor blood typing was ever performed

    11. Shady Proceedings Investigators never looked for trace evidence, analyzed Marilyn’s stomach contents, or did microscopic analysis of her wounds In addition, no rape determination was ever made Dr. Gerber concluded of his own accord that the burglary was staged by Dr. Sheppard

    12. The Trial – Part One Prior to the trial, the judge was quoted as saying, “Mystery? It’s an open and shut case…He is guilty as hell. There is no question about it.” Due to poor police handling, a media circus developed prior to the trial and the public had condemned Dr. Sam even before his trial began During jury selection, several jurors admitted to being swayed by the media coverage, but were selected nonetheless

    13. The Prosecution During the trial, the prosecution hammered away at allegations of Sam having an affair and said that his injuries were self-inflicted Dr. Gerber argued that the murder weapon was clearly a surgical instrument based on his “analysis” and said that this produced Dr. Sam’s “blood signature”

    14. The Defense Dr. Sam’s attorney failed to emphasize the incompetence of Dr. Gerber’s investigation and instead argued with him Expert witnesses argued that Sam’s injuries were impossible to fake In total, there were 87 witnesses and 300 evidence exhibits during the trial In the end, Dr. Sam was convicted of murdering Marilyn and sent to prison

    15. Exoneration On July 16th, 1964, Dr. Sam was released on $10,000 bond after serving ten years in prison Dr. Sam was released because F. Lee Bailey convinced the courts that the media circus of the first trial had led to a mistrial Due to this determination, a retrial was ordered by the US Supreme Court

    16. The Trial – Part Two The jury was sequestered throughout the trial and was not exposed to any media in any way The prosecution again claimed that Sam’s injuries were self-inflicted, but did not focus on the affairs as a motive

    17. The Defense Dr. Paul Kirk was the star witness, and he presented a profile of the killer as a lower class member who resented the Sheppard’s wealth and had an erotic fantasy of Marilyn Dr. Kirk produced this profile from evidence of how Marilyn was found by the police in relation to her clothing

    18. The Star Witness

    19. Blood Evidence – An Actual Investigation of It Dr. Kirk found from spatter analysis that the killer was left-handed (Dr. Sam was not) It was also determined that the blood trail was produced from a wound on the killer and not from a murder weapon The blood trail was typed, and it was found that the blood was neither Sam’s nor Marilyn’s The bloody pillowcase was reexamined and it was determined that the “imprint” that Gerber found was actually caused by blood soaking through the fabric

    20. More Trial Two Bailey forced Gerber to admit that he had never found or defined the “surgical instrument” that he said was used to murder Marilyn The result: Dr. Sam was found not guilty of the murder of his wife

    21. Post-Trial Prison had ruined Sam’s life and he became an alcoholic after his not guilty verdict In order to make money, he became a professional wrestler known as “Killer Sheppard” On April 6th, 1970, Sam died of liver failure due to his alcoholism

    22. Dr. Sam’s New “Profession

    23. Another Trial? Despite the not guilty verdict, Dr. Sam was never cleared of his charges Dr. Sam’s son therefore began a quest to clear his father’s name once and for all In 1997, a civil suit went before Cuyahoga County courts in an attempt to proclaim Dr. Sam innocent

    24. The Details DNA evidence showed that the blood in the house was not Dr. Sheppard’s and indicated that it could have been a former window washer, Richard Eberling Eberling was a career criminal, but he died before evidence was found to implicate him In the end, it was determined that the evidence was insufficient to completely clear Dr. Sam’s name, and his son is still fighting to this day

    25. Blood Analysis – A Bit More Detail There were several different types of blood analysis used in Dr. Sam’s trials Blood spatter Ghost pattern Blood typing DNA typing Although the original blood evidence was shoddy, it was still enough to convict a man to ten years in prison This case helps to show the changes in the criminal justice system and in forensic analysis in the past 50 years

    26. Bibliography Cooper, Cynthia and Sam Reese Sheppard. Mockery of Justice. Boston: Northeastern University Press, 1995. Hixson, Walter. Murder, Culture, and Injustice. Akron, OH: The University of Akron Press, 2001. Lee, Dr. Henry and Dr. Jerry Labriola. Famous Crimes Revisited. Southington, CT: Strong Books, 2001.

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