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Part 4 | Back to Part 3 December 21, 1954 Jury returns verdict of guilty in the second degree, ending what was until then one of the longest criminal trials in American history. Sheppard, incarcerated since his arrest, is sentenced to life imprisonment. Five volumes of newspaper clippings from Cleveland are collected from trial and pretrial period. Sheppard home returned to family. January 7, 1955 Ethel Niles Sheppard, Dr. Sheppard's mother, commits suicide by shooting herself. January 18, 1955 Dr. Richard Allen Sheppard, Dr. Sam Sheppard's father, dies of a hemorrhaging gastric ulcer and suddenly worsened stomach cancer. January 22, 1955 Dr. Paul Leland Kirk, California criminalist, visits Cleveland and Sheppard home.
Dr. Kirk returns a report that discusses evidence of a third person, blood spatter, and other items. April 1955 Hearing on motion for a new trial, in which affidavit of Dr. Kirk is presented; motion taken under advisement and then denied. Summer 1955 Dr. Sheppard moved from jail in Cleveland to maximum security prison near Columbus, Ohio, one of two in which he will stay until 1964. July 13, 1955 Dr. Sheppard's appeal to the state court of appeals is rejected, and the denial is upheld in subsequent appeals, including one to the U.S. Supreme Court, despite commentary by every reviewing court criticizing the conduct of the trial and the media.
Richard Eberling arrested for larceny, including theft of Marilyn Sheppard's ring from her brother-in-law's house. July 1961 William Corrigan, original defense attorney for Dr. Sheppard, dies; F. Lee Bailey of Boston takes over defense within the next year. August 1961 Publication of The Sheppard Murder Case by Paul Holmes, questioning the conviction of Dr. Sheppard. February 13, 1963 Thomas Reese, father of deceased Marilyn Reese Sheppard, commits suicide with a shotgun. April 13, 1963 F. Lee Bailey files a new habeas corpus petition in U.S. district court; prosecution represented by John Corrigan (no relation to William Corrigan, prior defense attorney). September, 1963 "The Fugitive," a highly popular television series inspired by the Sheppard case, according to most observers, begins on ABC. Continue: July 16, 1964 Chronology of a Murder | Science in the Courtroom Create a DNA Fingerprint | 3-D Mug Shot | Cleared by DNA Resources | Transcript | Site Map Editor's Picks | Previous Sites | Join Us/E-mail | TV/Web Schedule About NOVA | Teachers | Site Map | Shop | Jobs | Search | To print PBS Online | NOVA Online | WGBH © | Updated November 2000 |
Newspaper headline signals the end of what until then was one of
the most protracted criminal trials in U.S. history.
Evidence from
blood stains in the Sheppard's bedroom helped convince Dr. Paul Leland Kirk
that a third person was involved.
Richard Eberling shortly after his arrest for larceny in 1959.