July 4, 1954. Bay Village, Ohio. 31-year old Marilyn Reese Sheppard is bludgeoned to death inside her bedroom and her 30-year old husband, Sam Sheppard, is injured after claiming he was attacked by an intruder. Since Sam was known for conducting extramarital affairs, police believe that he fabricated the story and was responsible for killing his wife, so he is charged with Marilyn’s murder. After being convicted at what is described as “The Trial of the Century”, Sam receives a sentence of life imprisonment, but t...
July 4, 1954. Bay Village, Ohio. 31-year old Marilyn Reese Sheppard is bludgeoned to death inside her bedroom and her 30-year old husband, Sam Sheppard, is injured after claiming he was attacked by an intruder. Since Sam was known for conducting extramarital affairs, police believe that he fabricated the story and was responsible for killing his wife, so he is charged with Marilyn’s murder. After being convicted at what is described as “The Trial of the Century”, Sam receives a sentence of life imprisonment, but there is great concern about the sensationalistic and biased media coverage surrounding the case. Sam spends nearly ten years in prison before his conviction is overturned and after the case makes it all the way to the United States Supreme Court, he is granted a second trial and winds up being acquitted. Decades later, Sam’s supporters attempt to posthumously exonerate him by presenting evidence that points towards another suspect, but the crime remains shrouded in mystery. To commemorate the nine-year anniversary of “The Trail Went Cold”, we will be releasing our very first special three-part episode about one of the most controversial murder cases of all time. On last week’s episode, we chronicled the original investigation into Marilyn Reese Sheppard’s murder and Sam Sheppard’s first trial, but this week in Part Two, we will chronicle the overturning of Sam’s conviction, his second trial, and the attempts to exonerate him at a civil trial in 2000. Part Three of this series will be released next week.
Additional Reading:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Sheppard
https://famous-trials.com/sam-sheppard/
"The Wrong Man: The Final Verdict on the Dr. Sam Sheppard Murder Case" by James Neff
"Dr. Sam Sheppard on Trial: The Prosecutors and the Marilyn Sheppard Murder" by Jack DeSario and William Mason
https://engagedscholarship.csuohio.edu/sheppard/
https://www.law.umich.edu/special/exoneration/Pages/casedetailpre1989.aspx?caseid=300
“The Trail Went Cold” will be appearing at the AdvocacyCon, taking place at the Indianapolis Marriott East in Indianapolis on March 28-30, 2025. To get a 10 % discount on tickets, please use our specialized promo code, “TRAIL10”, by visiting https://www.advocacycon.com/.
“The Trail Went Cold” is on Patreon. Visit www.patreon.com/thetrailwentcold to become a patron and gain access to our exclusive bonus content.
The Trail Went Cold is produced and edited by Magill Foote.
All music is composed by Vince Nitro.
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