DrSamSheppard.org Biography of a Murder . . . An Online Mystery Magazine

This Unsolved Murder -- the Subject of Controversy and Misinformation for more than 56 Years -- has More Secrets to Reveal

The "powers that be" wish we would go away and stop stirring this pot! But we keep digging into old records, compiling facts and comparing evidence -- and we think something is very fishy (other than Lake Erie) about the State of Ohio's prosecution and persecution of Dr. Sam Sheppard.

Still, we are presenting everything we found as objectively as possible because we want YOU to analyze and compare the facts, claims and new revelations surrounding this case. With reliable and objective information -- compiled for the first time from sources dating from the 1930s through 2010 -- you will have the complete story and be able to make an informed decision about who did (and who did not) murder Mrs. Marilyn Sheppard.

As a Research Member of this website and subscriber to our online magazine, you will have password-protected access to:

Information from a wide variety of sources, compiled here for easy access and comparative analysis.

Information never-before-available to the public, including new documents, interviews, photographs, out-of-print publications and other materials provided by Sheppard family members or released from the Sheppard Archives.

As a Participating Member you'll have all that and more. You will be able to ask the questions you've always wanted to ask, join the discussion in the Member Forum, and submit your articles for publication on this website.

• Startling revelations about Coroner Gerber's "The Inner Circle." In a candid interview with Doris O'Donnell, a Cleveland Press reporter who covered the Sheppard trial in 1954. we learn that Coroner Gerber and his "inner circle" of law enforcement officials and newspaper reporters began building a case against the Sheppards back in the 1930's, linking Dr. Richard A. Sheppard (Dr. Sam's father) and the Cleveland Osteopathic Hospital he founded in downtown Cleveland with the Torso Murders.
• Paul Holmes on the Sheppard murder case, an excerpt from Paul Holmes' forward to My Brother's Keeper, written by Dr. Stephen A. Sheppard (out of print, limited availability)
  
• Erle Stanley Gardner on the Sheppard murder case, an excerpt from Erle Stanley Gardner's forward to The Sheppard Murder Case, written by Paul Holmes

• The complete affidavit of Dr. Paul Leland Kirk. Kirk reports to the court regarding his 1955 investigation of the crime scene with particular attention to his scientific interpretation of blood spatter in the murder room. Kirk's investigation provided new evidence, pointing away from Dr. Sam Sheppard as perpetrator.
• Sherlock Holmes and Paul Leland Kirk Investigate the Sam Sheppard Murder Case, Chapter One
  

• "Case Logbook," July 5, 1954 - November 15, 1963. What was it like to live through this nightmare? Entries made by Dr. Stephen A. Sheppard.
• "Remembering Our Marilyn." Marilyn Sheppard's personal story, excerpts from a book written by Melissa Reese Weigle, daughter of Mrs. Marilyn Sheppard's favorite cousin Keith Elihu Weigle, Jr. (unpublished) 
• Interview with Dr. Stephen A. Sheppard, D.O., M.D., psychiatrist and Dr. Sam's older brother, "In Retrospect," September 2009.
• "The Murder Weapon." Facts of the case compiled from documented sources.
• Excerpts from transcripts of personal interviews conducted in 1981 and 1982 by Richard Dalrymple, Jim Chapman and Janet Sheppard with the following persons connected with this case:
  
  
  • Samuel Gerber, Cuyahoga County Coroner;
  • Mary Cowan, Trace Evidence Department, Cuyahoga County Coroner's Office;
  • Lester Adelson, pathologist, Cuyahoga County Coroner's Office;
  • Fred Drenkhan, investigating police officer, Bay Village Police
  • Spencer Houk, Mayor of Bay Village, first on the murder scene
  • Esther Houk, wife of Spencer Houk, first on the murder scene
  • Don Ahern, neighbor, he and his wife were last to see Marilyn alive
  • Larry Houk, son of Esther and Spencer Houk
  • Lynn Houk, daughter of Esther and Spencer Houk
  • Thomas Reese Weigle, Marilyn Sheppard's cousin;
  • Herbert MacDonell, expert in forensic analysis;
  • Jack Pollack, author of Dr. Sam, An American Tragedy;
  • Andy Tuney, private detective hired by F. Lee Bailey
  • Doris O'Donnell, reporter for The Cleveland Press, covered Sheppard trial;
  • Dick Peters, editor of editorial page for The Cleveland Press
  • Ariane Sheppard, married Sam Sheppard upon his release from prison.

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We invite you to Join Now! for immediate access to:

• Biography of a Murder -- An Online Mystery Magazine
  

1. Dr. Paul Leland Kirk's affidavit -- reporting on his 1955 investigation of the crime scene.
2. Important clues never allowed into court and hidden from the public . . . until now.
3. Repressed forensic research findings, including results of recent DNA analysis.
4. Excerpts from out-of-print publications, unpublished documents, personal journals and memoirs from both sides of the case.
5. Photographs and historical information from private family collections and the Sheppard Case Archives.
6. Exclusive interviews with family members, neighbors, law enforcement officials, criminal investigators, newspaper reporters and others associated with this case.

• Opportunity to Solve this Crime - A side-by-side comparison of the evidence mounted against Dr. Sam Sheppard and that pointing toward other suspects (presented as objectively as possible by family members who believe Sam Sheppard is innocent) will let you decide: What really happened? Who murdered Mrs. Marilyn Sheppard?
• Members' Forum – Exchange ideas and theories with other members, and submit questions for family members and key people involved with the case.
• Member Profiles - Share information about yourself with other members.
  
• Complete Bibliography - List of references and links to other resources.