DNA tests on blood found in the home of Dr. Sam Sheppard bolster arguments that someone else killed his wife, news reports said Tuesday.
Dr. Mohammad Tahir, a forensic DNA specialist, plans to release the findings of his nine-month study to Cuyahoga County law enforcement officials and a defense team working for Sheppard's son, Sam Reese Sheppard.The Plain Dealer reported Tuesday that specks of dried blood and body fluids have produced compelling evidence that Sheppard, who was ultimately acquitted after spending 10 years in prison, did not kill his wife, Marilyn, at their Bay Village home.
WKYW-TV, quoting unidentified sources, reported Monday night that Sheppard "has not been ruled in or out" as a suspect but that the findings point toward a new suspect.
And the Akron Beacon Journal, also quoting unidentified sources, reported Tuesday that results would show "clear evidence that a third person's blood was spilled" in the Sheppard home.
Sheppard's supporters believe the finding would go a long way toward exonerating him.
"We are taking another step in the direction of clearing the name of Dr. Sheppard," Sheppard family lawyer Terry Gilbert told WEWS-TV.
Sheppard's conviction in the July 4, 1954, bludgeoning death of his wife helped inspire the TV series "The Fugitive," which was later made into a movie.
The U.S. Supreme Court overturned the conviction after Sheppard spent 10 years in prison. He was retried and acquitted in 1966, and died four years later.
Gilbert and other members of the legal team want to persuade a judge to declare Sheppard not guilty. That would clear the way for a lawsuit by his son against the state of Ohio for 10 years of wrongful imprisonment.