News

The Verdict

April 12, 2000

After a little more than three hours of deliberations, the jurors in the Sam Sheppard Civil Trial have returned a decision. And for the second time in the history of this case, the jury has ruled that Dr. Sam Sheppard may have been guilty of his wife's murder. Based on the preponderance of the evidence, at least six of the eight person jury determined that Dr. Sheppard was rightfully incarcerated for Marilyn's murder in 1954. 90.3's Yolanda Perdomo has the story.

YP: The jury sided with the state of Ohio that Doctor Sam Sheppard was not wrongfully incarcerated. It was the third trial in a span of 46 years that asked the question did Dr. Sheppard murder his wife Marilyn. In 1954, he was imprisoned for the crime, but in 1966, was retried and found not guilty. The Sheppard estate was clearly disappointed with the verdict, wondering why the jury didn't spend more time looking at the evidence, specifically the DNA evidence they say was found at the crime scene, and analysis indicated that someone else could have been the killer. Sam Reese Sheppard, the couple's only son, says the verdict still does not mean that his father was the killer. Attorneys for the Sheppard estate have yet to decide if they'll appeal the decision. At the Cuyahoga County courthouse, I'm Yolanda Perdomo in Cleveland.