New twist in 'Fugitive' murder

ALBANY, N.Y. - This much is certain: Marilyn Sheppard was bludgeoned to death in her Ohio home 48 years ago. Who took her life so brutally is much less certain. <br> <br> Was it her husband, Dr. Sam Sheppard, who was convicted and later acquitted in a case that helped inspire the TV series and movie ``The Fugitive&#39;&#39;? <br> <br> Was the killer, as Sam Sheppard claimed, a bushy haired intruder - which later became a one-armed man on ``The Fugitive&#39;&#39;? Or could it have been a window washer, as Sheppard&#39;s son believes? <br> <br> Former FBI agent Bernard Conners has added new intrigue by fingering a different suspect: Air Force Maj. James Arlon Call. <br> <br> In his book ``Tailspin,&#39;&#39; Conners contends that Call killed Marilyn Sheppard in her Cleveland suburb home during a cross-country crime spree - one that later led to a deadly shootout with police in Lake Placid, N.Y. <br> <br> Conners points to a bite wound on Call&#39;s hand the author contends was inflicted by Sheppard during her death struggle. He cites witnesses who years later still identify Call as the mysterious, bushy-haired man lurking near the Sheppard home in the early morning hours of July 4, 1954. <br> <br> Other evidence cited includes a crowbar confiscated from Call that fits the murder weapon, and a tiny triangle of leather found at the Sheppard home, consistent with a leather flyers&#39; glove of the sort Call was issued. <br> <br> ``I defy anyone not to see extraordinary, compelling evidence against Major Call,&#39;&#39; Conners said recently. <br> <br> Conners&#39; book includes statements from law officers who judge his evidence credible. <br> <br> Case closed? Don&#39;t count on it. <br> <br> The author joins a crowded field of Sheppard sleuths, which includes Sam Reese Sheppard, the victim&#39;s son. He remains ``thoroughly convinced&#39;&#39; the killer was a window washer named Richard Eberling who worked for the family. Eberling was convicted of a separate murder and died in prison in 1998. <br> <br> Now 54, the younger Sheppard acknowledges the mystery - he calls it a ``classic American whodunit&#39;&#39; - has become the stuff of legend and will continue to generate theories and controversy. <br> <br> ``I welcome any theory in this case,&#39;&#39; Sheppard said. ``My Dad did not do the crime.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Call was a decorated veteran with combat experience in Korea who had a wife and a young son. But Conners says the 27-year-old officer descended into a personal ``tailspin&#39;&#39; after his wife died of an infection during her second pregnancy. <br> <br> He became more remote and piled up gambling debts. He deserted the Air Force on May 13, 1954, and started his criminal career, attracted to the adrenaline rush of brazenly burglarizing occupied houses, Conners writes. <br> <br> Police cornered him in a cabin cellar in Lake Placid in August 1954, firing at him through the shower stall where he hid. Call shot his way out, wounding three officers, one mortally. He then eluded a massive dragnet, hiding out in upstate New York&#39;s Adirondack Mountains. <br> <br> Call was caught in Reno, Nev., three months later. He pleaded guilty to second-degree murder for the officer&#39;s death and served less than 14 years in prison. <br> <br> A quiet coda to his life ended in 1974 with a fatal car wreck near his home in Mantua, Ohio. <br> <br> Call was questioned about the Sheppard murder in 1954 by New York troopers investigating the officer&#39;s killing. Call professed ignorance and investigators didn&#39;t press, in part because Cleveland authorities had zeroed in on Sam Sheppard, Conners said. <br> <br> Sheppard spent 10 years in prison before the Supreme Court overturned the verdict. He was acquitted at retrial in 1966 and died four years later. <br> <br> Conners contends Call was emotionally distraught and willing to kill. The Sheppard break-in fits Call&#39;s style, he said, and there is evidence Call was in the Cleveland area. <br> <br> Jeff Call, the major&#39;s only child and now a businessman in Mississippi, said the book offers a ``very objective&#39;&#39; look at his father. He has never gone looking for a connection to Marilyn Sheppard because ``it was none of my business.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Does he believe Conners&#39; theory of the murder? <br> <br> ``I&#39;m not going to second-guess a guy who&#39;s a professional,&#39;&#39; Call said. ``He&#39;s very accomplished in his ability.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Despite the new theory, some believe the case may never be completely solved. <br> <br> Fred McGunagle, a veteran reporter and editor in Cleveland who has written about the case, compares it to the durable Jack the Ripper mystery. <br> <br> ``I can&#39;t imagine how you can show anybody guilty beyond a reasonable doubt,&#39;&#39; he said.