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Marilyn Sheppard Research Paper

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On July 4, 1954, Marilyn Sheppard was murdered in her home on the shore of Lake Erie. Sam Sheppard, the husband, denied any involvement in the murder but was presumed the killer. There were two pieces of evidence that came into question with regards to blood spatter. In the 1956 trial Gerber, the coroner, claimed that an outline in blood on one of the pillows resembled that of a surgical tool but was unable to identify the surgical tool. Gerber would have concluded this observation by believing the bloodstain pattern was a transfer pattern. It was concluded however, that the result of the blood stain on the pillow came from another pillow overlapping it. The second piece of evidence was on Sheppard’s watch. Sheppard claimed that the blood found on his watch came from when he checked Marilyn’s pulse when he found her. An investigator could determine whether or not Sheppard was the offender by looking at the bloodstain patterns on the watch. An impact spatter is blood droplets that come outwards that creates a bloodstain pattern when an object forcefully makes contact with the source of blood. If Sheppard did kill Marilyn the blood on his watch would have been from a back spatter. It was determined by Dr. Paul Kirk that the blood on the watch looked like transfer blood. It was determined by Dr. Kirk that there was some “tadpole-shaped spots” …show more content…

It was determined that both Sam and Marilyn Sheppard were grouped to have Type A blood but two spots that were found were not Type A. The first spot which was the largest blood spot in the bedroom was found on the closet door near Marilyn’s bed. The second spot of blood was on the knee of Sam Sheppard’s trouser pants. Both spots of blood were examined and determined that they were Type O blood. Dr. Kirk in court testified that the blood that was found on the closet door did not belong to either Sam or

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