The coastland times., 1951-04-27


her husbands attempt on his life
Sunday. She appeared in Manteo,
accompanied by a man from
Washington, on Tuesday morning.
Sheriff Cahoon said on Tuesday
that hospital officials told him in
Elizabeth City on Monday that De
Febio had expressed his sorrow at
making the suicide attempt and
was regretful for all the trouble
he had caused county officials.
Juvenile Court Hearing
A hearing has been called for
Friday morning at 10 o'clock be-
fore Juvenile Court Judge Chaun-
cey S. Meekins, at which Frank
and Theo De Febio have been
summoned to appear and show
cause why the three children,
Theodore Thomas De Febio, 8. and
Dennis De Febio, 8, an adopted
child, have not been placed in
school. Dominick De Febio, 4, is
the couples third child.
Sheriff Cahoon served a sum-
mons for her appearance upon
Mrs. De Febio Tuesday morning.
Background
De Febio was jailed for the
third time in recent months on
Wednesday of last week upon
complaints charging him with va
grancy, violating the compulsory
school attendance laws and with
contributing to the delinquency of
minor children. The complaints
were sworn out by Mrs. T. S.
Meekins, Jr., Superintendent of
Public Welfare, and Sheriff Ca
hoon. The three De Febio children
have not been entered in school
since the father served out con-
secutive sentences in Dare Coun-
ty Jail, the first for contempt of
court, when he refused to answer
questions of the county solicitor,
Martin Kellogg, at his hearing
last December; the second upon
his refusal to pay a SIS fine as
sessed when he was found guilty
of violating school attendance
laws, During the time De Febio
spent in Jail previously, the chill
dren were entered in Manteo
school and placed in the care of
the Welfare Department. At
present the older are attending
Wanchese school, and all are
again under the Welfare Depart
ment's care.
De Febio was to have been tried
in recorders court on Tuesday
upon the new complaints.
Judge w. F. Baum continued
the De Febio case for three weeks,
or until the defendant is able to
appear in court.
Letters
That De Febio's suicide attempt
may not have been long contem-
plated is evidenced by two letters
he mailed from his cell to the ed
itor of this paper. The first, dated
April 10, the day he re-entered
Jail, was a brief note of complaint
about what he called the insuffi-
cient amount of food served to in
mates Of the Dare County Jail.
The second, undated, was appar-
emily written later, and has some-
thing Of the tone of a suicide
note:
To the Editor:
For those who had any un-
derstanding for us we give
thanks. For those who helped
us in any way we are grateful.
'fe Sincerely.
Frank ]. De FebiO
Mrs. De Febio (Theo IT,, Sc,
like her husband, is apparently a
person of good education. She has
not lived with the family in the
abandoned Coast Guard Station
north Of Kitty Hawk that has been
their Dare County home, although
she has, it is said, made several
visits to her husband and children
there. She and her husband have
both vehemently insisted that God
gives parents the right to mould
the destines Of their children as
they see fit, and that this right
|supercedes the merely human au-
thority Of the state school laws.
Villains" Named
Martin Kellogg, county solicit
tor, received long telegram from
Mrs. De Febio on Monday morn
ing. Mr.. Kellogg, as county solic-
itor, represented the state in the
December hearing. The telegram
! accused him Of prosecuting the
case for political reasons (reasons
not fathomable to local observersl
and then dealt in good round
terms with this newspaper for
"distorting" a letter sent to US
by Mrs. De Febio. Zone letter
from Mrs. De Febio was printed
in this newspaper, as written;
another was not printed at all.
Which was the one we are charg-
ed with t'distorting," we are un-
able to determine. Perhaps the
4 navk mail will nv,1s~Tstay noN