Dr. Sam Sheppard Murder Case – 70th Anniversary

Sam Sheppard and his defense counsel in October 1954
(Photo courtesy the Plain Dealer and Case Western Reserve University

Do you remember the infamous Sam Sheppard murder case?

I mentioned it at work last week, and to my surprise, two of the people I work with were not familiar with it. I guess that's not too surprising. After all, the murder took place in July 1954 – 70 years ago exactly.

The former Sheppard home in Bay Village

Back on this post ten years ago (on the 60th anniversary), I noted that on July 4, 1954, "Marilyn Sheppard was found brutally beaten to death in her Bay Village home. Her husband, Dr. Sam Sheppard, had been asleep downstairs at the time of the murder according to his story. The rest of his version of the aftermath of the murder – including his being knocked unconscious by a "bushy-haired intruder" – are well known to Northeast Ohioans, as well as much of the nation. 

"The sensationalized coverage of the crime by the Cleveland Press and that newspaper's call for the arrest and conviction of Dr. Sheppard is well-remembered. The aggressive coverage by the Press was part of the reason that Sheppard was granted a retrial in 1966, after he spent ten years in prison for his initial conviction of the murder. He was acquitted after the second trial."

I posted the front pages of the Lorain Journal from the initial reporting of the murder on July 5, 1954 to his making a statement to the Cuyahoga County Sheriff's office on July 10th. The Engaged Scholarship @ Cleveland State University website provides a timeline of the murder and its aftermath which notes that Sheppard was not arrested and charged with murder until July 30, 1954.

I suppose that part of my fascination with the murder was the fact that for several years I rode the RTA bus to and from Cleveland every day, and it went right past the former Sheppard home on Lake Road in Bay Village (it's been torn down for years) as well as the former Bay View Hospital where he had his practice.

For many of us, the Sam Sheppard murder case is something that we'll never forget, and never get tired of debating. In the late 1990s, when the Sheppard son was making a case that a window washer committed the murder, I wasn't buying it. I felt badly for the son, who has had a terrible emotional burden all these years due to the tragedy.

Recently, I read an account of the events (including some gossip) surrounding the murder, and am now inclined to think that Sam Sheppard did not commit the murder – but knew who did and covered it up.