Evening star., 1949-12-09
; Slain Children
Buried, Father
Detected in Cell
Mother, Who Escaped
Shotgun Blasts, Gives
Statement to Police

SHOt9uH 0iuStos oiVSS
Statement to Police
The three children of John
Steven Conner went to their
graves in Alexandria Mount
Comfort Cemetery today as he sat
dejectedly in his cell, charged with
their murder.
Blasts from a .20-gauge shot
gun. which he reloaded after
shooting each one in the head.
killed Stephanie. IL; Michael. g..
and Cecilia. S. in the kitchen of
their home in the Cameron Valley
development Wednesday morning.
He has said he did it because
he feared they would inherit his
mental condition.
A solemn high requiem mass,
attended by schoolmates of the
two older children at st. Mary's
Parochial School, was held at st.
Mary's Church at $50 am. The
Right Rev. Msgr. Edward L. Ste
phens and the Revs. Michael J.
McDermott, Joseph Leitch and
Walter w. Herbert officiated.
The voice of a soloist in the st.
Mary's children's choir, of which
the two older Conner children
were members. rose through the
crowded church singing Ave
Maria"
Schoolmates Nearly Fill Church.
Grief was not confined to the
relatives-the paternal grand
father, Mrs. Conners' mother and
sister. The greater part of the
church was filled with schoolmates
of the Conner children.
The three white coffins were
blanketed with pink and white
carnations, pinks, roses and white
chrysanthemums.
Msgr. Stephens, in his closing
prayer, declared that ''if death
comes to anyone suddenly, 1t is
we'll that it comes to the young.
the sweet, fresh and unsoiled.
I'VE may feel that these chill
dren are now among the saints"
he continued-"that they died like
sweet roses, nipped by sudden
frost"
In the cemetery, atop a chill.
windswept hill, the three graves
were side by side. Only a few
close friends of the family and
the relatives followed the three
hearses. Graveside service was in
charge of Mr.. Herbert.
Mrs. Conner, under the care Of
a physician since the slayings. did
not attend the church service.
Friends said she had recovered
sufficiently to make statement
to Alexandria police, but its con-
tents were not divulged.
She escaped her husbands plan
to wipe out the family and take
his own life by pleading with him
until she could flee from the
kitchen. Friends said she had not
seen the children since their
deaths.
Conner had not asked to and
would not have been freed for the
funeral had he requested it, Judge
Williams T. Woolls said.
Conner has declined the services
of an attorney and has told Alex
andria police he expects the law
to execute me-"
No Action on Sanity Test.
No definite action has been taken
to give him a sanity test. Com
monwealth's attorney Howard w.
Smith, jr.. said today that if there
appears to be a question of Con-
ner's sanity, three courses are
open:
l. He may plead not guilty by
reason of insanity.
2. If it appears to Mr.. Smith
the man could be mentally un-
balanced, his Office could recon-
mend such hearing to the court.
8. The court can order such q
hearing.
Pale and shaken, Conner ap-
peared before Judge James R.
Duncan in Alexandria Civil and
Police Court yesterday. He did
not enter a formal plea. but an
automatic plea of not guilty was
entered for him and he was or
dered held for the grand jury
without bond.
Record of Mental Depression.
The 38-year-old Fort Belvoir
construction engineer who was
described as a perfect father" by
|neighbors, has a medical record
Of periods of mental depression.
He is graduate of West Point.
but never was commissioned
after cracking up" during final
examinations. His condition was
diagnosed as a nervous break
down and he was hospitalized at
Walter Reed Hospital here for
about 80 days.
Periods of extreme dependency
came again in 1885, 1886, 1910
and 1947.
He said he had considered kill
ing his family for five days before
it moved him into action while
he was shaving about 7:55 am.
Wednesday. All three children
were in the kitchen when they
were shot down one by one.
He surrendered to Alexandria
policemen. They found the gun.
loaded again, in a bedroom Of
the home.
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