Historic Cases: Sam Sheppard

Sam Sheppard came from a long line of doctors in Cleveland, OH. Born December 29th, 1923, he attended Cleveland Heights High School and was an excellent student and athlete. He was class president for 3 years and met his future wife, Marilyn Reese in High School. He finished college and his medical education before completing a residency in neurosurgery at LA County General Hospital. He and Marilyn, now married, returned to Ohio and he joined his father’s practice at Bay View Hospital. Life couldn’t have been better. A lakefront home in Bay Village. A young son. A picture perfect family until Sunday morning, July 4th, 1954 when Marilyn’s badly beaten body was discovered in her bed. The police and coroner immediately suspected the husband in spite of his injuries fighting the attacker. An affair, a hostile coroner, and a media-driven narrative inspired the TV series, The Fugitive, and a movie by the same name. But did Sam Sheppard kill his wife?