Evening star., 1950-01-31
Conner Ruled Insane
In Killing Of Children;
To Be Sent 10 Hospital

To Be Sent 10 Hospital
John Steven Conner. Fort Bel
voir civil engineer who shot and
killed his three children Decem-
ber 7. will be committed to a
mental institution this week.
The 39-year-old West Point
graduate yesterday was adjudged
of unsound mind by a sanity COM
mission in Alexandria Corpora
ton Court. The commission also
held that Conner was insane when
he fired the three fatal blasts
from a shotgun at his Cameron
Valley home.
Under Virginia law the commits
sion's finding of insanity both
now and at the time of the crime
means Conner never can stand
trial for the triple murder. He
can become a free man again If
the superintendent of the hos
pital where he is committed and
two other State hospital superin-
tendents agree that he is sane.
Veterans Hospital Care Asked.
Judge William P. Woolls said
he would commit Conner to a
State mental institution within
five days. Defense Attorney T
Brooke Howard asked that Conner
be sent to a veterans hospital
and Judge Woolls gave Mr.. How
ard until Thursday to find legal
basis for the request.
Besides Judge Woolls, other
members of the Sanity Commits
sion were DR.. J. C. Watson and
DR.. Jerome Baum. They deliber-
ated only II minutes before find
ing Conner insane. He did not
testify.
Mrs. Conner wept quietly as the
verdict was read. 1t was hel
first outward sign of emotion al
the four-hour hearing. Earlier
she related details of the tragedy
In a loud. firm voice.
"The sound of a gun awakened
me-" she said ''I ran into the
front room and saw him fire the
third shot.
Got Cigarette for Husband.
HE then asked me if wanted
him to shoot me. I said no. ]
backed down the hall. He kept
asking me again and again if he
should shoot me because the chill
dren were dead and he was going
to kill himself. kept saying no.
Mrs. Conner said she told him
to put down the shotgun, but he
refused and reloaded it.
HE asked me for a cigarette. ]
got it. and he smoked while hold
ing the gun to his side"
Mrs. Conner said she suggested
they try to help the children, but
he told her they were dead. She
told him not to take his ewn life
and started for the door.
He asked me where I was go.
ing. I just said I was going out
and left"
Had Been Working Excessively
Mrs. Conner said she ran to the
home Of neighbor. who called
police.
She said her husband had beer
working excessively" and hac
been attending night classes fol
three months before the tragedy
He also had been doing a lot o1
housework because she had had a
minor operation about a month
before the shooting, she added.
He had more active care of the
children than most fathers" Mrs
Conner testified her husband often
played games with neighborhood
children. He was chairman OF
teen-age activities for the COM
munity, she added.
Brig. Gen. Sidney L. Chappell
retired Army psychiarist, testified
that board of doctors at Walter
Reed Hospital in 1888 decided
Conner suffered from psychosis
of psychogenic depression. AS a
result, Conner received a medical
discharge from the Army after his
graduation from West Point. He
stood 18th in a class of 800, the
court was told.
DR.. Harold Stevens, assistant
professor of neurology at George
town University, said the pressure
Conner experienced at work ano
school quite likely was the trigger
which set off a chain reaction
ending in tragedy.
The only medical testimony pre-
sented by Commonwealth's Attor-
ney Howard w. Smith, jr., was
that of DR.. j. w. Love, a general
practitioner.
DR.. Love said Conner came to
him in 1947. complaining of loss
of weight. The physician testified
he ascribed the weight loss to Gin
sufficient intake of food He said
Conner had not appeared psy-
chotic, but on cross examination
admitted that he made no mental
examination.
Group Seeks Bridge 10 Aid