All Police Investigation Photos

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  Outside 07. Stairs to Beach, Brush Where Green Bag Was Found

  Stairs leading down to beach and bath house as viewed from upper level of backyard; camera facing northwest. At 1:30 p.m. on July 4, 1954, Larry Houk, son of Mayor J. Spencer Houk and Esther Houk, found a green cloth bag in the brush to right of the vertical post. He gave the bag to Cleveland Police Detective Patrick Gareau who opened it to find a man's class ring, key chain, and bloodied man's wristwatch that was stopped at 4:15. Detectives took the items to Sam at Bay View Hospital and he identified them as his own.

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  Outside 08. Stairs to Beach, View of Lake Erie

  View of stairs to beach from edge of backyard; camera facing north. In his 1954 trial testimony, Bay Village Police Officer Fred Drenkhan described the steps to the beach: "'There are 52 steps... The first 10 steps are concrete steps with a concrete landing, and then a wooden landing, and the next set is approximately 11 steps with a landing, they are wooden steps, then four steps and a landing, and another set of 11 steps. They have wooden railings all the way on down. You then enter onto a patio or a porch surrounding the beach house. To the east side of the beach house on the patio, you go on down to the beach."

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  Outside 09. Bath House, View of Lake Erie

  Wooden stairs to beach and bath house; camera facing north. A Huntington Beach pier is visible at right of photo. The Huntington Park Reservation was purchased by the Cleveland Metroparks in 1927; it was the former private homestead of Standard Oil executive John Huntington. Huntington Park is currently 103 acres and features one-half mile of lakefront.

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  Outside 10. Landing at Bath House, Huntington Beach Pier

  View from landing in front of bath house; camera facing east. Huntington Beach pier in the background. The Initial Homicide Offense Report describes the July 4, 1954 lake conditions and weather: "At approximately 6:20 a.m., there was about 4 to 5 ft. of beach at the foot of the stairs, with a small swell rolling on the beach from the northeast. The sky was clear and a breeze was not noticeable."

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  Outside 11. View of Beach from Bath House Landing

  Steps leading from bath house landing to beach; retaining wall visible. Sam stated that the man he chased from Marilyn's room "appeared to have slowed down or practically stopped as if awaiting him" here at the bottom of the stairs. Sam said he tackled the man, they both fell to the ground, and then he was knocked unconscious. Sheriff's Office Summary of the Marilyn Sheppard Homicide

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  Outside 12. View of Lake and Huntington Beach Pier from Bath House Landing

  View of steps leading from bath house landing to beach. Huntington Beach pier and retaining wall visible. At the Coroner's Inquest, Sam testified that he was knocked unconscious on the beach by a man with a "sort of bushy appearance." He further testified that when he regained consciousness, he could see the pier at Huntington Beach.

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  Outside 13. View of Stairs to Bath House from Beach

  View of retaining wall and stairs to Sheppard bath house taken from beach looking west. Neighbor's beach visible in background. In his statement to the Cuyahoga County Sheriff's Office, Bay Village Police Officer Fred Drenkhan described his examination of the beach on July 4, 1954: "I went in the upper yard and down approximately 50 steps to a porch surrounding a beach house--from here I could observe the beach in both directions and there was no evidence of a struggle or foot prints on the beach..." In the 1966 trial, the Sheppard defense team pointed out that Drenkhan only observed the beach from the beach house landing--he never went out on the beach or asked Sam where the struggle took place (p. 458-459 1966 Trial Testimony, Drenkhan testimony).

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  Outside 14. View of Stairs from Beach

  View from beach (showing brush where green bag containing Sam's bloodied watch was found) looking up beach stairs; camera facing south.