Indianapolis Times, Indianapolis, Marion County, 22 August 1949 — Page 2

lamaging Evidence’ ‘On Arsenic Charges

Sheriff Readies Testimony for Hearings in Evansville; Prepare to Exhume Body for Tests

By CLIFFORD THURMAN, Times Staff Writer EVANSVILLE, Aug. 22—-Did Mrs. Clarice Francetti Spurlock poison her own mother with arsenic? % ig hie M Yo. Vanderburgh County thinks so. Was pre d to present “damaging evidence” And did Mrs. Spurlock give the same lethal doses to her own

gain possession Of 8 ifs in Memphis, the highly nervs estate? {ous school teacher was later re- + R. Owen Willlams, Vanderburgh leased on orders of Indiana au-

‘prosecutor, Jock’s father, a retired. railroad out even a communi man who followed his wife's cate with his wife, She sald, how- : Suysterious death hid just five ever, she knew. his whereabouts. mon , ‘was to exhumed Evans t onthe, 3a8 to he today, nsville authorities expressed tests, ho hI Breaking a two-day silence in Memphis jail yesterday, Mrs.

arrived,

In walving extradition she sald daughter's arrest but were caushe way “definitely innocent” tioud.inl their remarks about their she would make a “mysterious” ‘and “strange” i t after talking deaths, L attorneys. { Typical r Visit ‘1 Mrs. Dearing was described as wile a typical Hoosier housewife, inde jves lerésted in her family and home. warrant She had gone to stay with Mr. and Mrs. Spurlock to assist in caring for her sick son-in-law her When she contracted the “mys-

Hoosler

The 30-year-old arrested by Memph "early Saturday on

ing, 56, Huntingburg, after D death. - Robert B. Forney, It Uni-| versity toxicologist, performed an

auto and he found - psy senic in the body to Nad been a switchman employed nou Bue iy . 1by the Southern Railway System | for more n 30 years. He was

Mrs. Dearing died of a mysterious malady in an Evansville] Hospital last fall eight days after having gone to visit her daughter. | When Mrs. Spurlock’s father, equally mystersous. circumstances, ©f his daughter. five months later, after having Only one report of a possible gone to live at the Spurlock home ritt between them was clrand willed his estate to his daugh-| It appears that Mr. ter, Sheriff McDonald became suspicious and caused the mother’'s body to be exhumed. Mrs. Spurlock tried to block the autopsy, Sheriff McDonald charged, he finally got permission

from her brother, .nard, a convicted forger now serying a sentence in the State Penitentlary at Michigan Sity. The sheriff opened Mrs. Dearing's

an official hristian Church and active in of the community. : Ni ly . He was reported’ as very fond

\ N

| Jointly to him and his daugh over to Mrs. Spurlock with the understanding she was to pay her mother's funeral expenses, Appeared Upset He learned later from the Fink Funeral Home, Huntingburg, that the bill remained unpaid. He went to Evansville to question his daughter about it and it was then that he became ill and died in a He received the doctor's report hospital. ; “of the gg Friday ane Sheriff McDonald recalls that immediately swore ou “he was “suspicious” about Mr. rant. Mrs. Spurlock, with her Dearing's death because “it was husband, Arleigh, 39, was picked too much like his wife's illness.” after a | It was pointed out, however, that despite the fact he had appeared upset regarding the funeral director’s bill unpaid, he had willed his entire es-

Why You Co

took steps today to thorities. He is said to have | | body of Mrs. Spur- “disappeared” in Memphis with-| = to

toxicological confidence that he would be in| {Evansville when ‘Mrs. Spurlock| (4

Persons who knew Mr. and Mrs. k protested her innocence. Dearing read reports of their! *

uldn't Drive on N. Capifol

If you were a motorist driving down N. Capitol Ave. in the || a. m. traffic the other day, you probably fumed like all the others and wondered why the police car that had just cruised by didn't do something about this truck, blocking one entire side of the street. The northbound cars had room to go through, unless, that is, they met head-on with a southbound vehicle forced into the wrong lane. These commercial "road " are one of the major traffic bottlenecks on industrial N. Capitol,

Hoosierland Traffic Accidents Kill 4,

I'terfous” ailment which caused her

Mr. Dearing apparently [was | said.| | better known and more active in apolis policeman, were injured in a series of week-end traffic acel-| *@ stop behind him police {dren ranging in age from five {the civic life of Huntingburg. He

n the Huntingburg |

‘through a fen

{the 16th watched in horror last night as’ one of the. race. cars cr through a guard rail and pinn one of the officials against a light sandard pole. -

Ave. one of the officials in the infield, suffered a fractured pelvis when struck by a machine op-

cuted less than two weeks before death, officials said. 5!

erated by Mike Burch of Indian|apolis.

®* - Zens 2 ® ? iE. =F fc : > be : Injure 4; Two Die in Flaming Truck Five Hoosiers were dead and five others, including an Indian-|light and Mr. Miller was unable

Miss Terrel was in St. Vincent's Hospital with a fractured pelvis and other injuries. Policeman Injured Motoncycle Officer John {Mickey, 33, of 1727 Carrollton |St., was hurt when his motorcycle crashed into a car he was chasing at Illinois and New York Sts. He was treated and released at Gen‘eral Hospital. : Paul J. Easterling, 29, of 748 Parkway Ave. received a sticker for making a left turn at a prohibited corner. ' Neutral Pruitt, 26, of 2841 Denison St, was only slightly hurt when his automobile crashed through a hedge at the Indiana School for the Deaf and crashed into a power standard, a fire hydrant and a tree. He was not arrested, Services for Mr. Ulrey will be held at 1:30 p. m. Wednesday in

dents, Including a spectacular crash at the W. 16th Street Speed: way last night. : Three men died when their light truck was struck by a Southern Railway System train 10 miles west of Petersburg and burst into flames. : :

from behind by the run-ner-up and shoved inside the guard rail towards the official's table. All but Gatlin scrambled away as the table, timing instruments and records were scrambled by the impact. He was pinned against the post as he tried to leap aside, Gatlin's condition was described as “just fair” at Methodist Hospital, Frank Ulrey, 72, of 1508 8S. Alabama St. died early today of injuries received Friday when gtruck by a car in the 1300 block of Madison Ave. : Police said he walked

The dead were Jackie Ray Shep rammed the field when he was herd, 19, of City; Davis Gardner, 24, of Oakland! City, and Kenneth Hume, 18, of near Winslow, State police said Mr, Shepherd and Mr, Gardner died In the

between

on the of Lawrence/two parked cars into the. path Fun ‘Monroe. Mr. was alone in'of an automobile operated yrs, Be a mans in ral the car. Phillip Porter, 63, of 708 Murray p,jestine. Ind.

18. He died in General Hospital of a brain concussion. Girl. Critically Hurt A young woman was critically injured in a two-car crash early Lodge there, terday on South St. "Surviving are his wife, FranPolice" said Miss Thelma Terrel, (ces; a daughter, Mrs. Elizabeth 19,\of RFD 1, Bridgeport, was a Hamilton, Cincinnati, O.; two er in an automobile oper- sons, Frank H. Ulrey Jr., Seattle, ated by Chester Miller, 45, of 925 Wash., and Edgar L. Ulrey, InE. 11th '8t., when it crashed into dianapolis; a stepson, Paul J. the rear of a car driven by George | _Indianapolis, and a Ullerey, 24, of Connellsville, Pa. stepdaughter, Mrs. C. B. Dreyer, Mr. Ullerey stopped for a signal Cincinnatti. : ;

-b\ More than 10.000 persons at St. Midget 8 way

An Indianapolis resident for 43 years, he ‘had been: employed as a salesman for the Booth Fisheries. Born in New Palestine, he was a member of the Red Men's

Bob Gatlin, 29, of 430 Leed

Witnesses said Burch's car was

J - > Hin R 'r INDIAN = OLIS 1 i ot = on %

“The sight of girls in shorts

..|drives me crazy,” Click told po-

lice as he signed a statement ad'mitting the 1944 slayings of Kuzeff and Wilhelma

Haaga. “There’s something wrong with my head,” he added. “I need an operation.” : Followed Tth ‘Stay’ Click confessed a“ day after

a seventh.stay of execution for ugh, 32-year-old Kokomo

Authorities sald Click “talked” after they told lim his wife, Marie, 23, and the “couple's chil-

months to six years were “under a strain” because of the investigation, Mrs. Click said her husband was injured in a 1940 auto accident and that his injuries “may have affected his mind.” “Such a thing ls impossible to believe about a husband that has been as good as Franklin has been,” she said. Attorneys and criminologists sald that but for “slow justice” a “horrible mistake” might have been made if Lobaugh had been executed for the crimes he confessed voluntarily. Lobaugh also confessed a third slaying. ‘ Twenty-eight months ago, Lobaugh walked into a Kokomo police station and confessed that he killed the women here. Lobaugh wis ‘sentenced to die in Februay. 1947, of the women whose murders Lobaugh confessed were the same victims Click says he slew. The other woman was Mrs, Dorothea Howard, slain in 1945. Robert V. Christen of Denver, Colo., was sentenced to life imprisonment on a second degree murder charge last April in that case.

Confessed Another In addition to the Kuzeff and Haaga slayings, Click also admitted that he killed Phyllis Conine, whose murder in 1944 was never solved, and that he kidnaped and raped Mrs. Simon Sparks, 19, last Wednesday. It was the Sparks rape-kidnap that snared Click. 3

the governor of Indiana granted|,

the

a. m. today In St. Vincent's pital. He was 37. Admitted to hs hospital he 2, Mr. Blackwell never consciousness following an operation June 11.

t of John well, presiden’ vi Sons, Inc., Funeral Directtended Holy

University. Mr. Blackwell passed his bar examinations and was admitted to the practice of law in Indiana in 19386, his law degree from Indiana w School was not awarded until the following

ear. y Active Democrat Personal attorney for Mayor| Feeney during his two terms as) sheriff of Marion County, Mr. Blackwell was active in Democratic work. I iat He was a candidate for nomination on the Democratic ticket for Superior Court Room 1 Judge)

1942. . Mr. © Blackwell’ enfered the] Navy in March, 1944, and was a lieutenant short-) ly after completing training at ‘Great Lakes Naval Training, Station. ; After more than two years service in the Navy Supply Corps, negotiating contracts with pri-| vate manufacturers for the Navy, | he was honorably discharged Apr. | 11, 1946. Since coming out of the Navy, he had been an associate with Leo Gardner in the law firm, Gardner & Blackwell. He had been counsel for the, town of Speedway since 1539. | Light Plane Pilot | An enthusiastic amateur lightplane pilot, he was a member of | the Quiet Birdmen Club. He was also a member of the Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church,

Other fraternal affiliations in-| cluded membership in the Indian-|

J. BlackJ. Black~ Cross

Thomas J. Blackwell Jr.

Home, 1503 N. Meridian St. will be followed by a requiem mass at 9 a. m. in the Immaculate Heart of Mary Church. Burial will be in Calvary Cemetery. ———————————————

Services Tomorrow

For Race Driver

Services for Marion (Jack) Johnston, Yorktown, midget race driver who was killed in an automobile accident Saturday, will be held at 3 p. m. tomorrow in Shire ey Brothers Irving Hill Chapel

Burial ‘will follow In Washing~

ton Park.

The race driver died instantly

when his vehicle went out of cone trol and crashed into a tree four miles east of Muncie on Ind. 32. He was 29. Mr. Johnston raced at Indianapolis Speedrome Friday night and was to have driven in stand-ard-car races yesterday in Salem. Born in Ind is, he’ lived most of his life in Marion County. A graduate of Carmel School, he had driven in midget auto races and worked as a mechanic since 1940. He was a mem ber of the Williams Creek Presbyterian Church.

Almg M. Cain

Alma M. Cain, who died Thurs-

apolis, Indiana and American Bar|day in his home, 1404 E. Ray-

Associations, and Voiture Local

Legion 40 & 8.

Surviving in addition to his) father are his wife, Mabelle Sher-|

Thomas IIF, Judith, Gregory and| M live in 5760 Guilford Ave. |

t (Peggy) Blackwell, who!

mond St, was to be buried in Memorial Park following services at 10:30 a. m. today in the G. H. Herrmann Funeral Home. He

man Blackwell, and four children, was 76.

Knights of Columbus, Indianap-| gurviving is his wife, Ruby olis Press Club, Athenaeum and rene Johnston, Indianapolis. es Highland Golf Club. {

A native of Frankfort, Mr, -

Cain ‘was a foreman for the Wheeler-Schébler Carburetor Co.,

Also surviving are a brother, When the National, Cole, Duesen=

apolis.

John H. Blackwell, and two sis- burg and Marmon automobile ters, Mrs. Robert J. Boyle and, Mrs. Robert J. Lewis, all of Indi- erating in Indianapolis. |a member of the Olive Branch

manufacturing plants were opHe was

The family has requested that Christian Church,

no flowers be sent by his friends to the funeral home. Instead, three daughters, friends are asked to send me-|Cain, Mrs. Carl Wright and Mrs. morial contributions in hjs name Cory Zody; a brother, Frank to the Marion County Cancer So- Cain; clety, 1101 W, 10th St.

Services at 8:30-a. m. Wednes-|

Surviving are his wife, Mary; Miss Evelyn

a half-brother, Harry Downer, all of Indianapolis, and a sister, Mrs. Alice Clapp, Den-

day in the Blackwell Funeral'ver, Colo.

wee ig

fll for several months, however,

Net 1a he appear much at social functions. His illness was described as &

Loses

Authorities will seek to have him undergo an examination to determine if any part of his fllness can be attributed to arsenic. Detained for & time with his

C. M. Haffner Dies; Burial Wednesday

Requiem high mass for Clarence M. Haffner, who died yesrda¥y in his home, 3949 N. New : _—— will be sung at: a.m. I,

A Dayne Taylor

“Wednesday Bt Mary: Catholic Church, Ft. Wayne, Bur-| fal will be in- Ft. Wayne. He “was BT. 4 Born in Ft. Wayne, Mr. Haff ner was transferred to the Int dianapolis branch of the Pennsylvania Railroad in 1926. He was employed by the railroad 40 years. He worked in. the superintend-! S-ent's office, ema Mr. Haffner was a member of the St. Joan of Arc Catholic: Church and the Third Order of} St. Francis. A veteran of World| War I, he was overseas eight months. : ; Survivors include his wife, Mrs. Alma Haffner; a daughter, Mrs. Lois Keller, Indianapolis; a son, Richard M. Haffaer, Long Island. New York; a sister. Mrs. ‘John Wagner, Ft. Wayne, and three grandchildren. .

Allen Webb

“Allen Webb, tarpenter-con-tractor and lifelong Marion County resident who died Friday in his home, was to be buried in Crown Hill following services at) 2:30 p. m. today in the residence, 5802 Broadway. Mr. Webb was born n Mil |

le e on the site of the Boy 1 srvation, Most of his) life however, was spent in In-| polis, A farmer for many

years, he had studied agriculture) at Purdue University following! his graduation from Millersville High School. He was a member of the Broad Ripple Methodist |

Church, : Surviving {s his wife, D. Estella Webb, ’ ‘ :

Mrs. Bettie Lott

Services for Mrs, Bettie Lott, 102 W. Walnut 8t., who died yes-. terday, ‘will be at 2 p. m. tomor- | row in the Jacobs Brothers’ West |

: om L Burial - be In ‘Teal, toast, brown : and Born in Dover, Tenn. Mrs. 10°40 20. :

had lived in Indianapolis or 2) and was a member] of the Baptist Church. She was |

7 . _ Burviving are a daughter, Mrs. Pearl Reed, and a son, Percy Lott, Indianapolis; a sister, Mrs. | Clarksville, |

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the end of week. So shops pu signs say they would closed fc week, And don was shi tighter tha drum,

] Maybe + British pec : were taki taking a ho from the of crises w! ing over tb had been bx ings that th desperate. that their s threatened; were about | work and | up.

BUT' THI mood. The) viously litt peated w worry had | workers wo slow-down } But the unic notice that general stril holiday cros cities to the This par typical of come to re

ng. British 1

factories 8

in the mo! experience newspaper boys came work stopp: terlude. In

1 inte muss

Leisure | PERHAP tion was tl a leading | and prices, . and goods most impor can buy is be the chie workers re rather have money left This isn’t clalists, Ma | _...__ per classes TC ty easy for S SE ‘spread of , many forn medical ben state from spread. The Briti: years has b tered one. ] the stiff cor American b Some 250 got.togethe and. prices. were ratifiec government steel Indust let everybo the least eff

A COMPI trust laws In the Un violate the nopoly stat laws to ‘re

utilities.

“