F. Lee Bailey: The lead defense attorney in the 1966 retrial that resulted in Sam’s acquittal. Francis J. Talty: Judge for 1966 trial. John T. Corrigan: Prosecutor for 1966 trial. Leo Spellacy: Assistant County Prosecutor for 1966 trial. Russell Sherman: Defense Attorney. Charles M. …
At a press club dinner, Dorothy Kilgallen reveals that before the Sheppard trial, the trial judge (Edward Blythin, had told her that Sheppard "was guilty as hell." July 15-16, 1964 Judge Weinman tosses out Sheppard's conviction on constitutional grounds, calling his trial "a mockery of justice."
Prosecutor John Mahon and defense attorney Frank Garmone give opening statements. The prosecution calls its first witness. November 16, 1954: Coroner Sam Gerber is called as a prosecution witness in the Sheppard trial. Gerber suggests that the bloody imprint found on Marilyn's pillow was that of "a surgical instrument." December 2, 1954
The trial of Sam Sheppard opened on October 18, 1954 in the Cleveland courtroom of seventy-year-old Judge Edward Blythin. Celebrity journalists flocked to the city for a trial that promised sex, mystery, and intrigue in abundance.
F. Lee BaileySheppard's attorney William Corrigan spent six years making appeals but all were rejected. On July 30, 1961, Corrigan died and F. Lee Bailey took over as Sheppard's chief counsel.
Justice Tom C. ClarkRuling that prejudicial publicity had denied him a fair trial, in an 8-1 vote the Court upheld a decision by a federal district court that granted Sheppard a writ of habeas corpus. Justice Tom C. Clark wrote the majority decision.
Three levels. The Supreme Court. ... They did ensure justice in the Sheppard case because the judicial system gave them a number of opportunities to argue his case before different levels of appellate courts and then, finally, a second trial. 15.
A jury convicted Sam Sheppard of murdering his wife in 1954. Sheppard claimed the media environment so prejudiced the trial that his due process rights under the 14th Amendment, which requires that a defendant receive a fair trial, were violated.
In November 1961, attorney F. Lee Bailey, then a 29-year-old newcomer, took up Sheppard's cause. He filed a stream of motions on Sheppard's behalf and saw every one rejected. His frustration lasted until March 1964, when, by chance, Bailey attended a literary dinner. Among the other guests was Dorothy Kilgallen, and she happened to repeat Judge Blythin's off-the-record remark to her during the trial. Bailey listened intently. If he could demonstrate judicial prejudice then that would be grounds for a new trial.
Apparently, someone had come to rob the house and ended up killing Marilyn Sheppard.
Sam Sheppard, complaining of head and neck injuries from his struggle with a "bushy-haired" intruder is taken to a hospital, where he is interrogated in the afternoon. July 5, 1954.
July 5, 1954. The Sheppard murder makes frontpage headlines in all the Cleveland papers. Lines of cars drive by the Sheppard home on the shore of Lake Erie. Sheppard is interviewed again by police and examined by a neurologist. July 7, 1954. Funeral services are conducted for Marilyn Sheppard. July 8, 1954.
The inquest is held in a Bay Village school gymnasium. The gymnasium is packed in the afternoon when Sheppard testifies. Gerber bars Sheppard's attorney, William Corrigan, from advising Sam on questions, and Corrigan is forced to watch from the stands. July 23, 1954.
July 3, 1954. In the evening, Sam and Marilyn Sheppard host a dinner for the Aherns, a neighborhood family. After dinner, the Sheppards and Aherns watch the movie Strange Holiday on television, with Marilyn sitting in Sam's lap. After a while, Sam moves to a daybed in the room, where he falls asleep.
The gymnasium is packed in the afternoon when Sheppard testifies. Gerber bars Sheppard's attorney, William Corrigan, from advising Sam on questions, and Corrigan is forced to watch from the stands. July 23, 1954. The inquest continues.
Sam Sheppard, complaining of head and neck injuries from his struggle with a "bushy-haired" intruder is taken to a hospital, where he is interrogated in the afternoon. July 5, 1954.
Richard Eberling, Sheppard's former window washer, is convicted of aggravated murder in connection with the death of an elderly widow, Ethel May Durkin. 1992. Cleveland releases police records and evidence relating to the murder of Marilyn Sheppard.
July 3, 1954. In the evening, Sam and Marilyn Sheppard host a dinner for the Aherns, a neighborhood family. After dinner, the Sheppards and Aherns watch the movie Strange Holiday on television, with Marilyn sitting in Sam's lap. After a while, Sam moves to a daybed in the room, where he falls asleep. The Aherns say goodbye to Marilyn about midnight.
On July 4, 1954, Marilyn Sheppard, the wife of a handsome thirty-year-old doctor, Sam Sheppard, was brutally murdered in the bedroom of their home in Bay Village, Ohio, on the shore of Lake Erie. Sam Sheppard denied any involvement in the murder and described his own battle with the killer he described as "bushy-haired.".
The Sheppard murder quickly became an obsession of Cleveland newspapers. The morning after the Marilyn Sheppard's death, a large picture of her ran below the Cleveland Press 's banner headline, "DOCTOR'S WIFE MURDERED IN BAY VILLAGE". Below the photo of Marilyn was a picture of Sam in his hospital bed, with an orthopedic brace around his neck. The accompanying story was sympathetic to Sam and suggested that "drug thieves" were suspected in the "bludgeoning."
Shortly after midnight, Marilyn showed the Aherns to the door. At 5:40 the next morning, Spencer Houk, the mayor of Bay Village, was roused by a phone call.
Cleveland") editor of the Cleveland Press, Louis B. Seltzer.
A third jury in 2000, asked to consider awarding the Sheppard family damages for wrongful imprisonment, sided with county prosecutors. In 2001, a book on the Sheppard case concluded that Sam was clearly innocent.