Richard Eberling
1959 Mug Shot
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A
Gratuitous Offering
by Dr. Stephen A.
Sheppard
A gratuitous offering is information
that is offered without being asked. The motivation is to redirect
the line of questioning, to mislead the interrogator or to cover up
something that may be dangerous -- usually something that has been
admitted inadvertently in a previous conversation. It is not
responsive to the question asked nor consistent with the line of
thought being pursued.
A classic example of the gratuitous offering was evident when
window washer Richard Eberling was picked up for burglary and
questioned by Bay Village police in 1959. Eberling had in his
possession Mrs. Marilyn Sheppard's rings, stolen from the home of
Dr. Richard Sheppard. As documented in Mockery of Justice,
Eberling told police he went to Dorothy and Richard Sheppard's home
to wash windows in March 1958. The interview continued as
follows:
Eberling: I ran across several boxes containing
the personal belongings of Marilyn Reese Sheppard. I found one box
containing two diamond rings which I removed and put them in my
pocket. This box had writing on it which said "Marilyn Reese
Sheppard personal property." It was an old cardboard box. I
replaced the boxes back on the shelf as I had originally found
them. Then I took the rings home with me and I took the smaller
ring and took the stones out of it and I discarded the setting by
throwing it in the trash can at home. Then I took the big stone out
of the bigger ring and saved the setting with the remainder of the
stones intact. . .
Question: Had you ever seen these rings before you took them
from Dr. Richard Sheppard's home?
Eberling: Yes. I had seen the large dinner ring lying on
Marilyn Sheppard's dresser in Dr. and Marilyn Sheppard's home
before she was murdered. I believe it was the fall before she was
murdered. . . I admired this ring at that time but I didn't take
it.
Eberling then told police he had worked for Dr. Sam and
Marilyn Sheppard during the lst week of June 1954. Working in the
house alone, he said he washed windows and inserted screens.
Question: Do you recall what date you performed this
work?
Eberling: It was the early part of the week of the Sunday
preceding her death.
Question: Did anything happen to you while you were
there?
Eberling: Yes, I cut my finger in an effort to take the
storm window out of the window by the kitchen sink and in doing so
I went about my work throughout the house and down into the
basement and at various times dripped blood in various parts of the
house.
Now that's a gratuitous offering! Eberling voluntarily
explained why drops of his blood could be found throughout the
Sheppard home, even though he had not been asked that
question.
(NOTE: Bay Village police, alerted
by Eberling's spontaneous statements about bleeding in the house,
attempted to arrange a polygraph test for Eberling. The most
accomplished polygraph operator in the area, however, said he could
not give the test without county approval. Bay Village Police
Officer Ronald B. DuPerow reported that County Prosecutor John T.
Corrigan told Bay Village police to drop it, and County Coroner
Samuel Gerber refused to give his approval. DuPerow wrote:
"11-13-59. Gerber notified us that he had decided to not give the
test. He said he believed Eberling and didn't think he was involved
in the murder.")
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If you received this
e-bulletin from a friend:
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Biography
of a Murder . . . An Online Mystery Magazine, Issue 4 is now available to
members on our website. Please visit: www.drsamsheppard.org
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Biography of a Murder, Issue 4,
includes:
_______________________________________________
We Interviewed Sam Gerber, Mary
Cowan, Esther Houk and other Key Witnesses in 81/82
During 1981 and 1982
Janet Sheppard, journalist Richard Dalrymple and criminalist James
Chapman traveled to Cleveland, Ohio, and other parts of the east to
interview key figures involved with the Sheppard murder case. These
unique interviews -- taped and transcribed -- offer new insight
into the case. Notes from these fact-finding trips are included in
Issue #4 of our online mystery magazine. Actual transcripts of the
interviews are available to Savvy Members
only. (More)
- A Gratuitous Offering
by Dr. Stephen A. Sheppard
- Window washer Richard Eberling, picked
up for burglary in 1959, spontaneously tells police why drops of
his blood can be found throughout Marilyn and Sam Sheppard's
home. [Another huge
gratuitous offering occurred during the interviews. Can you find
it?]
- Holmes and Kirk
Chapter Three: Sam's Story
- THE STORY CONTINUES . . .
What if a time warp enabled
Sherlock Holmes to collaborate with Paul Leland Kirk in the
investigation of Marilyn Sheppard's murder? With great admiration
and thanks to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Dr. Paul Leland Kirk, this
story -- based on actual facts of this case -- would
unfold.
- In Chapter Three, Dr. Paul Leland
Kirk reads Dr. Sam Sheppard's sworn statement regarding the events
of July 3 and 4, 1954, to Sherlock Holmes. He tells Holmes it's
important because more people believe Sam Sheppard to be guilty
because of his story than for any other single reason. (More)
Read
these entire articles and more on www.drsamsheppard.org
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We Interviewed Sam Gerber, Mary Cowan,
Esther Houk and other Key Witnesses in 81/82 -- (An Excerpt from
this Article)
March 1 - 3, 1981: Cincinnati, Ohio.
March 1 - Esther Houk, first upon the murder scene with husband
Mayor Spencer Houk
My first impression was
that Esther Houk certainly did not and could not have murdered
Marilyn. She seemed like just a cute, little old grandma type, but
she talked constantly and endlessly about this murder, and she did
several very strange things during the time we spent with
her. (This taped and
transcribed interview is available to Savvy
Members.)
- Saved articles and letters for
27 years. Although she had dragged out her
boxes and trunk of memorabilia for Dalrymple to examine, whenever
he pulled out something unexpected he would exclaim, "Whooaahh!,"
and she would jump up to look and ascertain what the item was
before he explored further. One time he said, "When are you going
to reveal your horrible secret, Esther?" That shocked her into
silence, but it turned out he was reading from one of her old "fan
mail" letters from 1954. She had saved quite a few crank letters,
including one series of letters (one letter sent every day) from
the same person. She also had kept a letter sent to her son Larry,
claiming that his date knew what he had done because he and she had
been up in the secret club house even though Marilyn had asked him
not to go up there anymore. She said she didn't know why she had
kept all those crank letters. Dalrymple also found two tapes and a
list of contents scribbled on a piece of paper. He did his usual,
"Whooaahh!," and she jumped up and grabbed them. He suggested
playing the tapes on his recorder, but she said,
"No."
- Volunteered to explain why her
tooth was chipped. Later, Dalrymple asked
who her dentist was, and she told us in a very straight-forward
manner. But then she came up with this amazing story out of nowhere
(we had not asked) about why her tooth was chipped. Right after
they were first married, she said, "Spen and I were visiting his
parents, and he said something, and I turned away, and then I
turned back around, and he had his fist sticking straight out
waiting for me to turn around as he knew I would. I turned right
into his fist and chipped my tooth right in front of his parents
and everybody."
- What about blood types, and who
is left handed? I asked Esther about blood
types. She said she didn't know about Spen or Larry, but she was
A+. I asked if Spen was left-handed. She said, "Yes, and so is
Larry. But I am right-handed." When she prepared drinks for us in
the kitchen, I joined her and watched closely. She used the bottle
opener with her right hand, and she twisted the top off a bottled
screw driver with her left hand. She smoked constantly and used
both hands. Following that first interview, we all had dinner
together at a nearby restaurant. Dalrymple said she used her right
hand during dinner to eat, but she ate so slowly, talked so much
and ate so little, she could have been putting on a long-practiced
act. She appeared to be ambidextrous.
After dinner we
returned to Esther's apartment for more discussion. By the end of
the evening, when we were all exhausted, some of the strangest
conversations took place:
- Suggested a murder
weapon. Esther described her idea of the
murder weapon in great detail. She called it a "skull cracker" and
said her brother had seen it in Dr. Sam's medical bag and had
described it to her. She said she envisioned it to be 10 - 12
inches long with one blunt end (she wasn't sure about the other
end), and "it curved up like this," (using her fingers and hand to
demonstrate). She said Sam used it all the time to crack open
plaster casts.
- Revealed her
obsession. Esther said she felt strange
living in Cincinnati because she has no identity. "Nobody in Cincy
knows about or thinks about the Sheppard murder case." She can't
say, "I'm the wife of . . ." or "I was the wife of . . ." because
nobody cares.
- Responded like a guilty
person. Dalrymple told her he was really a
private detective hired to find out what really happened. Esther
responded, "I'm not worried; this case will never be solved" (exact
quote). I said, "Don't you think it's already solved?" She didn't
say anything. She just looked at me like she didn't get my meaning,
or thought I was crazy. Finally she said, "No, because so many
people have so many different theories about
it."
During the course
of this evening together, Esther's eyes sent a message like the
wolf hiding in Grandmother's clothing must have sent to Little Red
Riding Hood. She did not have friendly eyes. Sparks or glints of
nastiness flickered out. She is very thought out . . . doesn't care
at all about Spen (they are divorced) . . . but really wants to
protect her children. I don't know what to think about her. Most of
her words said "innocent," but her actions conveyed
"guilt."
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Greetings!
Thank you for reading "Who
Speaks for Marilyn?" Although many have claimed to speak
for Marilyn over the years (e.g., newspaper editors who wanted to
sell more papers and prosecutors who wanted to blame Sam Sheppard),
it is we -- her family -- who are truly speaking for Marilyn. This
e-bulletin will tell you her story . . . and also update you on our
website and foundation activities.
Research Membership in our
website (www.drsamsheppard.org) is FREE and includes a subscription to Biography of a Murder, our
online mystery magazine, and access to the entire website. Savvy
Membership costs a little money and gives
you big
opportunity to read interview transcripts and ask questions
(through the website moderator) of key people associated with this
case.
Membership fees support the Sam and Marilyn Sheppard Foundation, a
non-profit organization dedicated to stopping violence against
women and children and working for criminal justice reform.
We invite you to JoinNow!
Our Position: Although Sam Sheppard was less than
perfect, he did not murder Marilyn. He was framed, and we think we
know why. We'd like to know what you think after you
explore all the facts on our website: www.DrSamSheppard.org.
Stay tuned. Our website is constantly evolving. We have lots more
to tell you in the next issue of our online magazine and this
e-bulletin!
Sincerely,
Janet Sheppard and Sam Reese Sheppard
Founders of The Sam and Marilyn Sheppard Foundation
-- a nonprofit 501 (c)(3) organization and project of Trust
Counselors' Network
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Thank You Supporters and New
Members!
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