Lejb Dojs
Ms. Voeller
English 9 Period 1
17 March 2023
Sam Sheppard: Murderer or Victim?
Sam Sheppard was accused of the murder of his wife and didn't receive a fair trial. The judge was biased against Sam, violating his rights and not giving him an unbiased jury. Today there are a few suspects including Richard Eberling and Sam Sheppard himself, but the most likely suspect is that neither of them did it. On July 4, 1954, Marilyn Reese Sheppard was murdered in her bedroom at night. She was killed by being bludgeoned to death on her bed. It is assumed that there was a murder weapon but it was never found.
Sheppard and his son were the only two known to have been in the house at the time murder. Sheppard's son has no recollection of the event, he was found by the police sleeping in his room. Sheppard however, was the one who called the police and told
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There are more suspects other than Sheppard, one is a man named Richard Eberling. Richard Eberling worked for the Shepherds and was convicted of a different murder years later. Richard Eberling had in his position some of Marilyn Sheppard's jewelry but claimed he had stolen it after she was dead. There was also some of Richard's blood at the crime scene. Richard Eberling was also known for wearing wigs which might have proven Sam Sheppard's testimony of a bushy-haired man. However, this theory can never be confirmed, Richard Eberling died on July 25, 1998 (Neff, James, and Myrtle Fray).
Sam Sheppard might not be innocent of the murder of his wife. On the night of the murder, there were no signs of a break-in (Famouse-trials.com). Also, Sam Sheppard had cheated on his wife and that could have been the reason for him murdering her. This isn't solid proof but it is how the first trial turned out, the prosecution tried to establish a motive for Sam killing his wife. They did this because there was no concrete proof that he did it or that he didn't do