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Attorney says DNA test supports Sam Sheppard's innocence
March 5, 1998
Workers exhume the body of Dr. Sheppard for DNA testing
Web posted at: 4:36 a.m. EST (0936 GMT)In This Story:
CLEVELAND (CNN) -- Test results of Dr. Sam Sheppard's DNA that are to be released at a news conference on Thursday will bolster his innocence in the famous 1954 murder case, an attorney for Sheppard's son said on Wednesday.
The attorney says the DNA suggests a third person had been present in his house when his wife was slain, supporting his claim that an intruder killed her.
Sheppard had insisted that a bushy-haired intruder killed his pregnant wife Marilyn at the couple's suburban Cleveland home and knocked him unconscious after a struggle.
"This really brings the case to a new level of strength," said attorney Terry Gilbert. "This takes Sheppard away from being the killer."
Case inspired 'The Fugitive'
Sheppard is returned to his cell after being found guilty of murder on December 21, 1954 Sheppard's body was exhumed in the autumn so his DNA could be tested against blood samples taken from the scene of the crime that inspired the TV show "The Fugitive."
In what was the trial of the century when the century was half over, Sheppard was a young, rich and attractive doctor who was charged with bludgeoning his wife to death.
The case consumed the media for all of its 100 days. Sheppard was found guilty of murder. He spent 10 years in prison before the U.S. Supreme Court overturned his conviction and was acquitted at a retrial in 1966.
Sheppard, who was dogged for the rest of his life by lingering questions about his innocence, died nearly penniless of liver disease at age 46 in 1970.
A suit has been filed, on behalf of his son, against the state of Ohio, alleging wrongful imprisonment. The Sheppard estate could collect about $2 million if the doctor is found innocent -- a tougher legal standard than the 'not guilty' verdict.
The younger Sheppard, 50, from Oakland, California, believes his mother's killer is Richard Eberling, a former window washer at the Sheppards' home. Eberling is in prison for a 1984 murder but denies killing Mrs. Sheppard. He was ordered by the court to provide DNA samples in the Sheppard case.
"I feel like I have a historical responsibility to my lost loved ones and a historical responsibility to take tragedy and learn from it," Sheppard said.
Prosecutors minimize validity of test
Sam Reece Sheppard Prosecutors downplayed the validity of the DNA tests, saying the crime scene was trampled.
What the Sheppard team "interprets as good news may not be reliable evidence," said county prosecutor Stephanie Tubbs Jones.
Prosecutors have asked the Ohio Supreme Court to dismiss the Sheppard suit. A ruling is expected this spring.
Sheppard's body was exhumed in September so that tissue samples could be examined by Dr. Mohammad Tahir, an Indianapolis forensics expert.
Tahir's earlier DNA tests revealed that Eberling could not be ruled out as a match for bloodstains from a swatch of Sheppard's pants, a wood chip from a basement stair and a stain on the back porch. He said Eberling's DNA also might be on two vaginal swabs taken during Mrs. Sheppard's autopsy.
Tahir said his most recent DNA tests exclude Sheppard from those bloodstains.
Gilbert, however, refused to discuss a DNA test Tahir also performed recently on a bloodstain from a wardrobe door in Mrs. Sheppard's bedroom. Tests in 1955, crude by today's standards, concluded that Sheppard's blood was not in the bedroom.
Correspondent Ed Garsten and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Message board:
Related stories:
- Sam Sheppard's remains exhumed for DNA testing - September 17, 1997
- Judge sets new hearing in 'Fugitive' case - May 8, 1997
- New evidence could overturn verdict in 'Fugitive' case - June 14, 1996
- Case that inspired TV series lives on - March 1, 1996
Related sites:
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- "The Fugitive" episode guide
- Haunting Questions: The Sam Sheppard Case - eight-part series from Beacon Journal Online
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