New evidence found
for The Fugitive' case
CLEVELAND (AP) — PNA
tests on blood taken from the
home of Dr. Sam Sheppard sup
port his famous alibi — that a
bushy-haired intruder beat his
pregnant wife to death more
than 40 years ago, a lawyer hired
by Sheppard’s son said Tuesday.
The findings are the strongest
indication yet that Sheppard,
whose sensational story inspired
“The Fugitive,” was telling the
truth, said Terry Gilbert, who
represents Sheppard’s son, Sam
Reese Sheppard.
The test results are “entirely
consistent with Sam Sheppard’s
story, that he came upon an
intruder and there was a strug
gle,” Gilbert said.
The findings were presented
Tuesday to Cuyahoga County offi
cials and a team working for
Sheppard’s son, who has worked
for years to clear his father’s name.
The initial investigation
assumed all blood found at the
scene was Mrs. Sheppard’s, since
there was no evidence that Sam
Sheppard was cut.
His DNA could not be test
ed, either, because Gilbert said
attempts to obtain a sample of
Sheppard’s DNA from the back
of a stamp on a 1943 letter
were unsuccessful.
Forensic DNA specialist Dr.
Mohammad Tahir, who con
ducted the tests for free, said he
tested two bloodstained items —
a wood chip and a swatch of
Sheppard’s pants — preserved
from the crime scene, as well as
two vaginal smears taken during
Mrs. Sheppard’s autopsy.
The tests showed the blood
could not be hers, but the find
ings did not exclude a convicted
murderer who once washed win
dows at the Sheppard home and
was briefly suspected of her slay
ing, Gilbert and Tahir said.
The scientists said the DNA
could belong to inmate Richard
Eberling, although they gave no
statistics on that likelihood.
“The dominant type I found
was consistent with Mr.
Eberling,” Tahir said.
The dried blood could also have
been a mixture of two other peo
ple’s blood, or possibly one per
son’s blood that became contami
nated over die years, Tahir said.
Petition
Continued from Page 1
Carl Baggett, student body
president and a senior account
ing major, said the student gov
ernment association has tried to
remain fair throughout the peti
tioning process.
“We’re trying to give everyone
who wants to have input in the
process every means to do so,”
Baggett said.
Referendums initiated by the
Senate must be held 15 days
prior to a filing deadline for can
didates, but since this was stu
dent-initiated, the referendum
has no clear deadline to apply to
this year’s elections.
If a majority of the student
body votes in favor of it, the next
general election will include yell
leader run-offs.
Pagt
Wednesday • February5,1
Fire officials give students safety tip
Marshal says most fires can be avoided Fire PfGVBIItiOn
By Benjamin Cheng
The Battalion
In the wake of a fire at Kensington Place
Apartments, fire officials are giving Texas
A&M students fire safety tips to prevent
future incidents.
Paul L. Meloeny, a sophomore electrical
engineering major from Seabrook, Texas, was
killed and Alexander Clinton, a sophomore
environmental design major, was hospitalized
in the Jan. 18 blaze.
Mike Ruesink, College Station Fire Prevention
and Education officer, emphasized the responsi
bility of inhabitants to prevent fires.
“What they do inside those walls,” Ruesink
said, “is what’s going to make the apartment
safe to live there.”
John Mies, College Station Fire Marshal,
said 90 to 95 percent of fires can be avoided if
precautions are taken.
“It’s either an act or an omission,” Mies
said. “Somebody did something or didn’t do
something that caused the fire.”
The College Station Fire Department issues
a handout listing 10 fire safety tips.
Mies and Ruesink said these tips are essen
tial in preventing fires, especially for those
who live in apartments.
Install and Maintain Smoke Detectors
“Have a smoke detector,” Mies said. “A
working smoke detector.”
The tenant or landlord is responsible for
providing the renter with an operating smoke
detector. The maintenance of batteries for a
battery-operated smoke detector is usually the
responsibility of the renter.
The smoke detector in Meloeny’s apart
ment was found operating in the closet. This
resulted in the smoke detector being delayed
in sounding an alarm, Mies said.
Ruesink said Meloeny chances of surviving
the fire would have been greater if the smoke
detector had been placed properly.
“He would have had a better chance of get
ting out alive,” Ruesink said. “The earlier the
warning, the more time you have to get out.”
Ruesink and Mies said apartment dwellers
should have a battery-operated smoke detec
tor in each sleeping area. Smoke detectors cost
$6 to $25.
Smokers Need Watchers
Carelessly discarded cigarettes are the No. I
cause of fire deaths in the United States. Lit
cigarettes near combustible materials are a
fire hazard.
“Never smoke in bed,” Ruesink said.
The majority of smoking related fatal fires
in residences start in bedrooms, Mies said.
He said the Kensington fire was most likely
smoking related.
“We can’t say for sure that a cigarette
caused it,” Mies said. “But we’ve more or less
ruled everything else out.”
College Station has had two fatal fires in
the last 20 years and both were smoking
related. Mies said both could have been pre
vented if a working smoke detector had been
properly located.
Know Two Ways Out
Every sleeping area in College Station must
have a door and a window.
“That window is your second means of
escape,” Mies said.
Mies advises people in a fire to crawl on
the floor and feel the door before opening it.
If the door is hot, he said, find another
means of escape.
“If there’s a fire outside of your room and
you open that door,” Mies said, “you could be
breathing in air and smoke and gases in excess
of 800 degrees.”
Mies said people should leave immediately
and not gather their belongings.
Use Electricity Safety
Ruesink said misuse of extension cords and
overloaded electrical sockets are fire hazards.
“Extension cords are not meant to be used
on a permanent basis," Ruesink said.
Ruesink also advises against stapling elec
trical cords or placing them under rugs.
Be Careful While Cooking
The majority of fires in residences start in
/
Install and
a smoke detecul
Watch for lit
or smoldering
cigarettes _ .
Takeprecai
when coi
Use electricity
Keep matches and
away from children
t|Pp|Kf
SOURCE: NationaH
Protection Ageneyf
lames Vineyard, TheBatJ
a Iross the street
hurch.
kitchens, Mies said.
“If you’ve got something on thestoveM e f u t ure s jt e 0
leave the kitchen,” Ruesink said. “I don'tc
you’re boiling water or frying fish.”
College Station averages 30 to 40
fires each year.
Renter’s Insurance
Mies said renters should have rei
insurance to protect against fire damage
“It protects your belongings and dot
Mies said. “Most people do not have it.”
Basic renter’s insurance costs $75 tt
per year.
Questions about fire safety shoultl
directed to the College Station I
Department at 764-3705.
By Mai
The I
Take a Free
Test Drive
If you took the test today, how would you score?
Come Find Out
Call today to reserve your seat!
Feb 8 & 9
(call for locations and times)
Statue
Continued from Page 1
Joe Moore, Class of ’38, initi
ated and underwrote the pur
chase of the monument after
viewing the casting at
Goodnight’s studio in Santa Fe.
Dr. Robert Walker, the vice pres
ident for Development at A&M, is
directing a fund raiser for the pur
chase of the monument.
Tim Donathen, assistant
vice-chancellor for Facilities,
Planning and Construction, vis
ited the monument in Stone
Mountain Park.
“It’s a very large piece of
sculpture,” Donathen said. “It’s
going to fit in very well.”
The monument weighs seven
tons and is 12 feet high, 18 feet
wide and 30 feet long. It will
reside in a plaza outside the
Presidential Library.
The monument will be
moved to the Bush Library dur
ing the summer, Donathen said.
Goodnight said the Bush
Library was the most appropri
ate place for the monument
because of her recognition of
Bush’s diplomatic skills in end
ing the Cold War.
“He was one of the best
international diplomats we’ve
had,” she said.
The monument is the second of
two castings done by Goodnight.
The first casting is currently on
loan to the city of Denver. In the
future, this casting will be moved
and displayed in Berlin, Germany,
Students exp
as a gilt from the American; p ar j n g i oss v j s
German people. Leech imped
. Goodnight has another: dllring the fifth
displayed at lexas A&M lenge, an event t
sculpted the dog in the n Individuals with
ment, ARCH 401, outsit A&M University.
Architecture building. The] Participants
ument was commissionW S mearedwith pe
Joe and Betty Moore in ren[ u [ate vision imp
brance of their late son Step: cpmmunicate v
Anyone interested in marshmallows t
tributing funds to the purcf||p e( jj ment
of the Berlin Wall monumlEight tables e
should contact Ur. Bob W3li liabilities from
at 845-8161.
taring loss, wei
agroom from 1
The event we
- |epartment of S
Students with
forks, a studen
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