All Police Investigation Photos

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  Room 07. Twin Beds in Murder Room, Body Removed

  Twin beds in murder room; photo taken immediately after body was removed. Corner Gerber allowed Marilyn's body to be removed at 10:30 a.m. on July 4, 1954; assistant corner Adelson began his autopsy at 12:30 p.m.

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  Room 08. South Wall of Murder Room

  South wall of victim's bedroom in vicinity of headboard of victim's bed; blood spatter visible on wall.

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  Room 09. Headboard in Murder Room

  Headboard of victim's bed and south wall of bedroom containing blood spatter.

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  Room 10. Radiator Cover in Murder Room

  Radiator cover in murder room located to the right of the second twin bed.

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  Room 11. Blood Spatter on Murder Room Door, Wardrobe Door

  East wall of murder room. Both the door opening into the bedroom from the hallway and closet door are covered with blood. Dr. Paul Kirk, expert witness on Sam's defense team, believed that the two larger stains on the closet door were too large to be impact spatter. In his 1955 Affidavit, Kirk stated that "One very large blood spot [about 1 inch in diameter] was present on the wardrobe door... This spot could not have come from impact spatter. It is highly improbable that it could have been thrown off a weapon, since so much blood would not have adhered during the back swing for so long a distance, and then separated suddenly at just the right moment to deposit as it did. This spot requires an explanation different from the majority of the spots on the doors. It almost certainly came from a bleeding hand, and most probably occurred at a time different from the time that hand was wielding a weapon. The bleeding hand could only have belonged to the attacker." Dr. Kirk reported that the blood was type O, which was Marilyn's blood type. Both Sam and Richard Eberling were type A.

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  Room 12. Murder Room, Body Removed

  Marilyn's bed after her body and the bed clothes were removed. Hallway is visible at left of photo; nightstand with phone and alarm clock are to the right of the bed. In their 2003 book, Dr. Sam Sheppard on Trial, Jack P. DeSario and Bill Mason write that when the 2000 prosecutorial team met with Fred Drenkhan, the first officer on the crime scene, he mentioned that Paul Gerhardt, a Bay Village handyman and volunteer patrolman who guarded the Sheppard home after the murder, told him that something was missing from the murder room. Gerhardt said he repaired a cord on a lamp for the Sheppards and, on July 2, at Marilyn's request, put the lamp back in their guest room--the murder room. The lamp is not on the nightstand in the crime scene photos (Desario, p. 69).

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  Room 13. Murder Room, Camera Facing Northwest

  Marilyn's bed after her body and the bed clothes were removed. The shades on the windows are open and fingerprint powder can be seen on the window sills. Cleveland Police Detective Michael Grabowski testified at the 1954 trial that he was very careful when dusting for fingerprints in the murder room because he didn't want to contaminate anything or disturb the blood evidence. He reported that his dusting of the sills didn't reveal any identifiable prints, only smudges.

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  Room 14. Murder Room Door and Closet Door

  In his 1955 Affidavit, Dr. Paul Kirk, expert witness for the Sheppard Defense, reported that the blood spatter evidence indicated a left-handed assailant: "A swing similar to that used with a baseball bat with a left handed batter is the only one consistent with the blood spot distribution." Sam Sheppard was right-handed.