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After an intruder entered his home, and brutally murdered his wife, Marilyn, Dr. Sam Sheppard was accused and convicted of the crime.  The Sheppard home was in Bay Village on the shore of Lake Erie.  Sheppard had an affair some months before and this was portrayed as a motive.  Sheppard had some wounds from the real assailant but the prosecution claimed these were self-inflicted.  Sheppard described the assailant as a bushy haired man and other witnesses claimed to have seen him.  Although its creator denied it, the 1963 TV series, The Fugitive, was widely thought to be based on this case, due to obvious similarities.

Sheppard's defense was not allowed access to forensic evidence prior to trial.  When examined after trial, it found that Marilyn had apparently bitten her assailant as one of her teeth was broken outward, and that the killer must have been splattered with blood as the bedroom walls were all splattered except for a spot that was shielded by the assailant's body.  Apart from a small spot, Sheppard had no blood on him, nor any bite marks.  Backswing blood spatter indicated the assailant swung his weapon with his left hand, while Sheppard was right-handed.  Appeals based on this new evidence were denied.  Eventually a young lawyer named F. Lee Bailey got interested in the case, took it to the U.S. Supreme Court, and had the conviction overturned.  Sheppard was acquitted on retrial in 1966, but died at age 46 in 1970.  DNA tests in the 1990's revealed the assailant was a mentally ill man who had once worked at the Sheppard home.  (American Justice)  [9/05]

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