Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Herald and news. (Klamath Falls, Or.) 1942-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 1, 1961)
IllUSTIATION SY IICHAdO HEtDEQEN Al I III .0 3-IN-ONt jjgffl PUSH IUIION 3-IN-ONt OILSPR GiviTs pin-point oil coverage lor hard to reach places: locks, springs, lawn mow ers, bicycles, hinges. So easy to use-just spray on. 3-M-ONE OIL Ataar at MOULAR w OIL STRAY toe fmnl tt IUCTIUC MOTOR ML for htawy Mr- SOT ALL THi.Il! HINGE FIX IT QUICK I Fill holes with depend able Plastic Wood. Won't chip or crumble. Ask for it by name. fa unit ruKt vn Of mum 1 1 s ORA-FIX Holds dentures fast ... all day! 0RA j Use Ora Denture Cleanser, too! ARTHRITIS RHEUMATISM PAINS Rush oul pain . . . rush in relief. That's what happens if you lake DOLCIN for nagging, moderate Arthritis, Rheuma tism or Muscle Pains . . . whenever they occur. Nothing else is direr, safer, , better for such pains than DOLCIN tablets. And you can try them without risking a single cent. Here's what to do: Get a bottle of DOLCIN today. Take them ...all of them . . . according to directions. You must get fast, wonder ful relief or get your money back. IBAO. hnlrln Corp. I I was cettinc my husband's dinner while he waited on some customers in our grocery in front of the building. It was a brisk Friday, March 3, in Reno, Nev., and just another day to Jack and me. Then I heard Jack say in a matter-of-fact tone of voice: "You wouldn't do that" I heard scuffling sounds next, but before I could react Jack came running into the kitchen. He didn't say anything. His eyes were widened in terror, and his breath came in gasps. Everything went hazy. I found myself running out the kitchen door, calling for help. Two neighbors, Larry and Lee Works, grabbed me. "It's Jack!" I shout ed. "Jack's been shot!" Hurriedly, I followed them back to the store. It was strangely quiet now. I looked to ward the back of the store near the counter. "Don't, Belva," Larry said. "Stay here!" . I rushed past him, but he caught me before I could get to Jack. All I saw was a glimpse of Jack lying on the floor with blood coming from his mouth and spreading in a pool beside ' him. I went limp and kept mum bling, "Jack, Jack." The police came and there were questions. Some people say I was hysterical; I was just numb. I only vaguely heard the questions and don't remember what I answered. One of the offi cers suddenly became interested in my shoes. "Take them off, Mrs. Griffis," he said. I thought he was being considerate. Actually, the shoes, splattered with blood, would bring more tragedy. Police drove me to the hospi tal where Jack had been taken. I thought I was going to see him at last Instead, our family doctor met me in the corridor. "Your husband is dead," he said softly. "He was shot twice." I asked to see his body, but the police shook their heads. "We're going to the station, Mrs. GrifTis," an officer said. "We've got a lot of questions to ask you." He was polite, but his voice was so cold that I turned and looked at him for the first time. His expression was hard, and his eyes seemed to bore into me. I looked at the other officer. He flanked me as if expecting me to run. And then, finally, I realized what was happening. I was being held as a suspect They believed I had murdered my own Jack! At the police station, I was questioned until 2:30 Sat urday morning. The questions were all the same: were you near your husband's body? . . . did you touch him? . . . did you see anybody in the grocery? . . . why did you run from the kitchen? I told them that all I could remember was Jack coming in with such anguish on his face that I instinctively ran to get ramUy Wttkly, October 1. 1M1 They Said Murdered My Husband A happy marriage ends irr boo& anfr violence, and evidence points to this woman can a lie test dear her? By MRS. BELVA GRIFFIS as told to Nick Ellena 1 turned around and there was Jack-gasping or breath, his eyes widened in terror. help and that I hadn't gone any where near him. "If that's the case," a detective snapped, "why was there blood on your shoes?" So this was what made them suspect me! I couldn't explain this, and the police said my an swers didn't make sense. "We're going to have to hold you on suspicion of murder," a detective said. "You can call your lawyer or family. Then we'll lock you up." I called my ion Lester in Den ver and then was led to a tiny cell with a cot, a dirty mattress, and a thin blanket I fell on the cot and wept uncontrollably. Slowly an awareness of my pre dicament came over me. Not fear or resentment, just wonder about how this terrible thing would affect others. There was Lester, for instance.' His mother called a murderess! And .my parents, particularly my father who at 77 was just recovering from pneumonia. And my friends would they stand by mo when I needed them most? I got my answer that weekend. Two friends, Louis Bowman and Harry O'Neil, were my first visitors. They arranged for at torneys to protect my rights. My son arrived within 24 hours and, shortly after, my brother, his wife, and my parents. "Don't worry, Belva," my father said, just as he had many times when I was a child. It's amazing how the strength of a family can re store you. I had many bad months ahead, but I never felt that I was alone. Monday morning, an officer came to my cell and asked if I wanted to take a lie-detector test. Before I could answer, my attorneys said no. "But why?" I asked. "I'm innocent" They explained that because I was still emotionally upset I might react poorly to the test could vindicate myself. "I'll take it," I was sure, though, I I said to them. A polygraph operator strapped a rubber coil around my chest and arm and put something in my right hand. "Now relax, Mrs. GrifTis," he said. He asked many questions, some having nothing to do with the crime. And then, startlingly quick, he demanded: "Did you murder your husband!" "No!" I answered vehemently. And the test bore me out on this point But in other areas the machine indicated I was holding back the truth. My answers seemed suspicious. I couldn't understand this and, bitterly disappointed, returned to my cell. I lay down and
