Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1962-02-17
Army Doctor Kills
Wife, a Sons Self
CuroIiniun's
Body Found
In D. 6. Hotel

The body of Army Capt. Vim
cent j. Madison, 33. who police
said shot his wife and four
young sons to death Wednes-
day in Columbia, S. c.. was
found yesterday in a room at
the Statler-H Hilton Hotel here.
Capt. Madison, an Army doc
tor, had been shot through the
head. In his right hand he
held a .22-caliber pistol of for
eign make. which police said
had been used in the South
Carolina killings.
The Army physician had reg
istered at the hotel Thursday
morning as Paul Derby of
Buffalo, N. Y" Apparently he
had not left the room since.
The body was found when a
maid became suspicious and
notified a hotel detective, who
entered the room with a pass
key. Homicide squad Detective
1t. George Donahue said the
Army gynecologist's body was
found fully clothed, sprawled
on a daybed.
Columbia IS. c. authorities
said Capt. Madison's wife,
Sally. 33. and sons, Vincent, jr..
8; Mark, 7; Brian, S, and
Hugh. 2, apparently were slain
Observation-Disclosures Day.
Seen With Son
Neighbors said Capt. Madison
and his son Brian went shop
ping on Wednesday afternoon,
according to the Associated
Press. Later the boy was seen
delivering valentine cards at
the homes of neighborhood
playmates.
Notes found in the Madisons'
home indicated that Capt.
Madison shot his wife and
sons. Their bodies, fully clothed,
were found yesterday on beds
in the home after the doctor
failed to report for duty at the
Army base hospital. Each had
been shot more than once.
Richland County Sheriff
Strother Sigh told The Star
that one of four notes left by
the Army captain read:
II have just made five saints
-. I will be here or nearby"
Sheriff Sigh said the little
kids had their toys with
them they were all dressed"
Find Valentine Card
He said sheriff's deputies
found a classroom Valentine
card in the Madisons' living
room. brought home by one of
the children to his parents. Il
love you" was written on it.
Although there was no clear
motive for the killings, the
sheriff said one of the notes
was addressed to a psychiatrist,
another to a priest.
The absence Of signs Of a
struggle, the sheriff said. led
him to suspect that the chill
dren had been drugged before
being shot.
Capt. Madison was given a
two-day furlough from the
Army base hospital-Wednes-
day and Thursday-after tell
ing his superior officers his
wife was sick.
Washington detectives said
no notes were found in the
Army doctors top-floor room
at the Statler but that he had
scrawled words on a bathroom
mirror with soap. The writing
apparently said: Father Leon
ard, Fort Jackson. w. r. A. H."
Police said the four letters
may have stood for Walter
Reed Army Hospital.
Capt. Madison and his wife
were natives of Syracuse, N. Y.
and both were graduated from
Syracuse University. They
were married in 1858.
Capt. Madison. entered the
Army in 1946 as an enlisted
man. He was discharged in
1948 and, after graduation
from Syracuse, he completed
his medical training at the
New York State College of
Medicine in 1855. He re-en-
tered the Army in 1856.
District police identified the
Army officer by means Of a
thumb print on a drivers
license bearing his correct
name. Police also found pa
pers in his wallet listing the
correct name.
Automobile Sought
Besides the personal papers,
police found only one piece Of
overnight luggage in the hotel
room here. Still sought was
the captains automobile, in
which he was believed to have
driven from Columbia to
Washington.
At Syracuse, N. Y. the Asso-
ciated Press reported, Capt.
Madisons mother, Mrs. Mary
Madison, became hysterical
when informed her son was
missing. A priest was called to
her home. Capt. Madison's IA
ther, a former fire captain in
Syracuse, died in 1855.
Capt. Madison is also sur
vived by three brothers, George,
a physician, and John, an at
torney, both of Syracuse, and
the Rev. A. Leonard Madison of
New York, a Catholic priest,
and two sisters, Mrs. Irving
Cunningham, of Syracuse, and
Mrs. Franklin Allen of Port
land, Me.
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