Evening star., 1955-06-16
Just an Ideal Suburban Morning
Until Horror Strikes in the Park

straight ahead, across the rustic
bridge and 1900 feet down the
bank of the creek. He couldn't
find any policemen so he ran
back again.
Shakes OFF Policeman
Then he noticed the police
men. One tried to stop him.
1T may be my daughter" he
shouted, shaking off the detain-
ing arm.
Back from the dirt road, at the
edge of a thicket. he saw the
body. He didn't look at the
blood -smeared face. He didn't
have to. He saw the billowing
orchid skirt, and he knew.
He wheeled and started run
ming up the dirt road. forgetting
his car, not stopping to identify
the body for the policeman.
Whitefaced, he reached his wife
and put his arm around her.
"They're both dead" he said.
Down the street. Mrs. Ryan
dropped to the ground in q faint.
Mrs. Shomette walked blindly
from her husbands protecting
arm. b
"It's Nancy" she kept saying.
She took a few more steps. Then,
she. too, collapsed.
And the boys who had been
waiting for Nancy and Michael
to come home so the picnic could
start stood on the street and
cried.
The women came out of their
houses on the street across from
the park. They gathered their
children about them-the chill
dren who had always been free
to race through the park. They
called their husbands.
Fathers Return Early.
Soon the husbands who
worked in Washington, but
didn't mind the long ride be-
cause it was so good for the
children to have the park, be-
gan to come home-but ahead
of their usual quitting time. AS
one explained later. Your wife
calls. You can't do anything for
the Ryans or the Shomettes,
but you can go to your own
home and quiet down your
wife,
AS the police went to work,
the story of the discovery of the
bodies drifted back from the
scene to the street across from
the park - West Park drive
where the Shomettes lived at
1904 and the Ryans lived at
1914.
Barbara Huff. IL. who lived
across the park at 1903 Wells
boulevard. had been cutting
across the park with a neigh
boris black spaniel, named Tiny,
to go to the Adelphi Shopping
Center for some writing paper
about 1915 am. She had
crossed the rustic bridge, passed
the grove and was heading to-
ward West Park drive. when
Tiny began to bark.
She called to him but he re-
fused to come. She went back
to see what was the matter and
discovered the body of a girl in
an orchid skirt. She ran home
to tell her mother what she had
seen, but Mrs. Ralph Huff was
not so sure her daughter wasn't
imagining things. Mrs. HUI
crossed the bridge. went into
the grove. Then she went back
home and called the police.
80 Feet from Road
/ Pvt. E. G. Husk and Pvt. Will
liam Kreitzer of the county police
were first to arrive. They saw
the body of Nancy Shomette
lying on her left side. an arm
loutflung, her body beside a los
at the edge of thick woods. She
was in a cleared grove with
picnic tables about. some 80 feet
from the dirt road. Twigs hac
been thrown across her face, a,
if in a hasty effort at conceal.
ment.
Sergt. John F. Branzell arrived
a few minutes later. He entered
the thicket and there-approxi-
mately 80 feet away from Nancy
lay her friend. Michael was ly.
ing on her back, her clothing
disarrayed as it would be from
dragging her body over tht
ground. There were marks or
the ground and crushed grass Il
show she had been dragged.
| The police found other things
Nancy's small pearl handled
pocket knife. its blade closed, wa!
under the log. Her white pocket,