MURDERED: Marilyn Sheppard (The Case Behind "The Fugitive")

In 1954, Marilyn Sheppard was found murdered in her Bay Village, Ohio home. Her husband, Dr. Sam Sheppard, claimed an intruder was responsible, but the case quickly became a media sensation and one of the most controversial trials in U.S. history.

We cover the murder, the investigation, the trial that captivated the nation, the Supreme Court appeal, and the decades of new evidence that continue to spark debate over Sam Sheppard’s guilt or innocence.

 

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Sources: Dr. Sam Sheppard

1. https://www.newspapers.com/image/1161579403/?match=1&terms=Sam%20Sheppard July 5, 1954

2. https://www.newspapers.com/image/1161579430/ July 5, 1954

3. https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/sheppard/chronology.html (Timeline)

4. Marilyn Reese Sheppard (1923-1954) - Find a Grave Memorial

5. https://www.newspapers.com/image/1061161401/?match=1&terms=Sam%20Sheppard July 5, 1954

6. https://www.newspapers.com/image/1061161847/?terms=Sam%20Sheppard July 5, 1954

7. https://www.newspapers.com/image/1161579673/ - July 6, 1954

8. https://www.newspapers.com/image/1161579693/ July 6, 1954

9. https://www.newspapers.com/image/1161580320/?terms=%22Dr.%20Samuel%20Sheppard%22 July 8, 1954

10. https://www.newspapers.com/image/1161580329/?terms=%22Dr.%20Samuel%20Sheppard%22 July 8, 1954

11. https://www.newspapers.com/image/1061163143/ July 8, 1954

12. https://www.newspapers.com/image/1061152937/?match=1&terms=%22Dr.%20Samuel%20Sheppard%22 July 23, 1954

13. https://www.newspapers.com/image/1161580677/?terms=%22Dr.%20Samuel%20Sheppard%22 July 9, 1954

14. https://www.newspapers.com/image/1161580670/?terms=%22Dr.%20Samuel%20Sheppard%22 July 9, 1954

15. https://www.newspapers.com/image/1161580688/?terms=%22Dr.%20Samuel%20Sheppard%22 July 9, 1954

16. https://www.newspapers.com/image/1161581456/?match=1&terms=Susan%20Hayes July 13, 1954

17. https://www.newspapers.com/image/1061167105/?match=1&terms=Susan%20Hayes July 13, 1954

18. SHEPPARD MURDER CASE | Encyclopedia of Cleveland History 

19. Sheppard v. Maxwell | 384 U.S. 333 (1966) | Justia U.S. Supreme Court Center

20.  James Neff’s book “The Wrong Man: The Final Verdict on the Dr. Sam Sheppard Murder Case” (Random House, 2001)

21. ACLU of Ohio. (n.d.). Case Summary: Sheppard v. Maxwell. Sheppard v. Maxwell 384 U.S. 333 (1966) - ACLU of Ohio 

22. Sam Sheppard, the inspiration for “The Fugitive,” dies | April 6, 1970 | HISTORY

23. https://www.newspapers.com/image/1161457250/?match=1&terms=Susan%20Hayes Dec 1, 1954

24. Sam Sheppard | EBSCO Research 

25. https://www.newspapers.com/image/960535986/?match=1&terms=Sam%20Sheppard July 19, 1964

26. https://www.law.umich.edu/special/exoneration/Pages/casedetailpre1989.aspx?caseid=300

27. Dr. Sam's Last Days

28. The Trials of Dr. Sam Sheppard: A Chronology

29. https://www.newspapers.com/image/1097959212/?match=1&terms=The%20Sheppard%20murder%20case%20at%2070%3A%20Terry%20Gilbert July 2024

30. Dr. Sam Sheppard's Body Exhumed in Bid to Clear Name in Murder - Los Angeles Times Sept. 18, 1997

31. https://web.archive.org/web/20220306173150/https://www.nytimes.com/1998/03/05/us/dna-test-absolves-sam-sheppard-of-murder-lawyer-says.html March 5, 1998

32. Body of Marilyn Sheppard exhumed - UPI Archives Oct. 5, 1999

33. https://www.famous-trials.com/sam-sheppard/2-sheppard

34. The Dr. Sam Sheppard Trial.

35. https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=7078505068087048302&q=State+v.+Sheppard,+135+N.E.2d+340,+342+(Ohio+1956)&hl=en&as_sdt=2006#r[1]

36. NOVA Online | Killer's Trail | Chronology of a Murder (5)

37. Prejudicial Publicity in Criminal Trials: Bringing Sheppard v. Maxwell Into the Nineties | Office of Justice Programs

38. His father's wrongful conviction became a Hollywood hit. Decades later, Sam Sheppard is learning how to be himself.

39. https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0791985/?ref_=nmbio_ov_bk

40. The Marilyn Sheppard Murder of 1954: An Analysis of Evidence.