Fitzgerald leader enterprise and press., 1924-12-04
Hunt Killer In Furnace Mystery;
Horror Expressed By Sons Story
Ohio Pastor Wife Victim of Religious Mania Polio
Think Woman Was Murdered and Showed in Fur
mare Rodv Partially Crenated
Written Specially for The Leader
By Robert Fuller
Thru Autocaster SerVlceJ

By Robert Fuller
Thru Autocaster Service)
The body of Mrs. c. Y. Sheatsley,
50 years, wife of the pastor of Christ
Lutheran church, Bexley, a suburb OF
Columbus, Ohio, and mother of four
children, was found partially cremated
in the furnace of their home on the aft
ernoon of November II. Many theo-
ries have been given for the mystery
which has baff1ed the police.
Prosecutor King found blood on
one of the pipes leading from the
furnace and on the door. He is hav-
ing it examined. DR.. H. M. Brundage,
a. pathological expert, has been con-
ducting tests on guinea pigs, which
were expected to show that Mrs.
Sheatsley was put in the furnace after
she was dead. This bursts the theory
of her husband, who is now the on
ly one in the fashionable church to
hold to suicide An arrest is expected
soon. Prosecutor King says that he
has "struck a hot lead" but will not
divulge what it is.
The Rev. Sheatsley, husband of the
dead woman, established an alibi
which has been checked up by the
prosecutor and found to be appar-
emily ho1eproof.
Has Good Alibi
He claims to have left his wife alive
at their home at / 80 on the fatal day.
and returned home at 4:45. is actions
during the intervening time have been
checked and found to be true. He went
to bank; bought hat; visited hos
pital to pray with young girl student
from Capital College, who was confin-
ed there; and made several calls.
Clarence, the youngest son, 10 years
tells one of the most wierd stories ev-
er conceived by human. He claims to
have been attracted to the furnace by
an unusual odor. He saw his mothers
body there on the blazing Goals. He
says he closed the door and returned to
the upper part of the house lay down
took a nap then left the house to prac-
tice foot ball at the Capital College
field. 1t was not until five hours had
passed that he told of seeing his moth
er in the furnace.
When he answered the Prosecutors
questions his eyes we're averted and he
look no one full in the face. His father
was the first one he told what he had
seen.
Sisters Say Mother Wept
Milton twenty years the oldest son.
said that he came home and smelled
something burning, but it was not until
his sisters came home and urged it, did
he investigate. He said that when he
opened the furnace door rush OF
flames and acrid smoke made him slam
it. II thought there was rabbit pelt
mixed in with the garbage that had
been thrown into the furnace. he
said in answer to questions.
The two sisters, Elizabeth, II years
and Alice 10 years, told Prosecutor
King that their mother had come into
their room early on the morning of the
fatal day and that she was crying Ac-
cording to the police they claim that
she asked, my poor children, will
your mother be forgiven for her sins?"
The father said that he had heard part
of the conversation. but did not hear
the reference to 'sins."
The Rev Sheatsley first told the po-
lice that he believed that his wife had
been murdered. Several hours after
wards he got in touch with Prosecutor
King and told him that he had chang
ed his mind and now believed that she
had committed suicide in fit of re-
lipious hySteria or mania
He said that she had been much i'm
pressed on the previous Sunday morn
ing when he had preached on the top.
ic, MAN Driven Out of the Garden of
Eden," and that she had told him that
it was the best sermon that he had ev-
er done. "She also said that she would
like to be in the place / preached
about" he testified.
He based his change of mind on this
statement of hers and claims that it
was possible for her to have gone into
the furnace feet first and to have then