Here is information I have learned about the case since my original post.
Benton Evening News Monday, April 15, 1963
Murder Possibility Probed in Frankfort: But Suicide is Probable Officers Say
The decapitated body of a 43-year-old West Frankfort widow was discovered Sunday morning in the grocery store she operated and authorities are investigating the possibility of both murder and suicide.
States Attorney Joseph Hickman said today that all signs point toward suicide, but he was not ruling out the possibility that Mrs. Geraldine Patton Williams was murdered.
Though medical reports fixing the time of death are not available, it is believed Mrs. Williams died some time Saturday evening, likely after she closed the Patton Grocery Store at 1716 East Main Street in Frankfort Heights after 10:00pm Saturday.
The body was discovered by West Frankfort policeman Arthur Marks, who investigated when Mrs. Williams could not be found by a Sunday morning newspaper distributor and by a clerk at the store both of whom searched her living quarters immediately behind the store.
Mrs. Williams body was found behind the meat counter section of the store, the head severed from the body apparently by a band saw. Authorities said the head was resting on a shelf near the saw and the body was found lying prone and face down behind the meat counter near the saw.
When Marks investigated, the saw was still running and was hot. Sheriff Ray Carrell said there was no sign of any struggle or violence. Mrs. Williams was clad in slacks, shoes and a brassiere. Her blouse had been removed and placed on nearby boxes.
Investigation by officers found that she had apparently counted out the Saturday store receipts and that as far as can be determined no money is missing.
Coroner Eugene Dorris said that Sunday newspaper dealer Paul Kelley came to the store about 8:00am yesterday bringing papers for Mrs. Williams to sell as he normally does. He found doors locked and could not locate anyone. He summoned Hank Killion, a clerk at the store and Killion entered the living quarters through an east side window. He went into Mrs. Williams bedroom, noting that her bed had not been slept in, found nothing out of order in the living room and left the living quarters through the window, then called authorities.
Policeman Marks also entered through the window. He found that all the doors of the building were locked, but a door into the store that was closed, was not locked. It had a snap-type lock on it.
Mrs. Williams was widowed about eight years ago and had operated the store about four years. Her mother, Mrs. Mattie Patton, who lives nearby, is the owner of the building. Mrs. Patton was visiting in Chicago over the Easter weekend. Mrs. Williams lived with her eleven-year-old son, Jay, who was also away over the weekend, visiting in Ziegler.
Coroner Dorris said that no notes were found in the living quarters or in the store and that Mrs. Williams was not known to have been especially despondent. She was not known to have been in ill health recently.
State Crime Laboratory personnel were summoned to the scene and arrived Sunday afternoon to conduct an investigation that included fingerprint taking and other work.
Pathologist Dr. Fred Kiechele of Evansville, Indiana conducted a thorough post-mortem examination at the Franklin Hospital yesterday after the body was removed from the store at mid-afternoon.
Coroner Dorris said that although Dr. Kiecheles report will not be available until Thursday, he found no sign of a blow or other marks of violence on the head or body. He said there was not evidence or rape or molestation.
Pending reports from the pathologist and the state laboratory, Dorris did not immediately set a date for an inquest into Mrs. Williams death.
Mrs. Williams was said to be small woman, weighing an estimated 105 pounds. A crowd estimated as large at one time as 500 persons gathered in the area of the store as word of the bizarre tragedy circulated. It was reported that Mrs. Williams mother was hospitalized after being informed of the death of her daughter.
Mrs. Williams is survived by her son, Jay, 11, her mother, Mrs. Omer Patton, a brother, Glenn Patton of Bridgeview, and a sister, Mrs. Lucille Hill of Mt. Vernon.
Funeral services will be held at 2:00pm Wednesday at the Second Baptist Church in West Frankfort. Interment will be in Tower Heights Cemetery. The body will lie in state at the Vantrease Funeral Home in West Frankfort after noon Tuesday.
Benton Evening News, date?
Still Awaiting Lab Report in Frankfort Death
Authorities today expected to receive reports tomorrow from an Evansville, Indiana pathologist and state crime investigation experts on the death of Mrs. Geraldine Patton Williams, 43, whose decapitated body was found Sunday morning in the West Frankfort grocery store she operated.
States Attorney Joseph Hickman today said that no one has been taken into custody in the matter he earlier said pointed toward suicide.
Mrs. Williams body was found near a meat-cutting saw that had been used to sever her head from her body. Hickman said today not one scrap of evidence points to murder, although he said murder cannot be ruled out because an aluminum storm door could, if a person knew how, have been locked from the outside.
He added that investigation is continuing and that he and Sheriff Ray Carrell are obligated to pursue every rumor no matter how absurd.
Authorities found no notes in the store or living quarters. Robbery earlier was ruled out as a motive for murder because funds owned by Mrs. Wiliams were found. A preliminary pathologists report indicated no marks of violence on her body other than the saw cut.
It was learned that so far almost $2,900 has been found in various places in the store and living quarters since the body was discovered. The pathologists report will come from Dr. Frederick Kiechle of Evansville who conducted an autopsy Sunday at Franklin Hospital.
Benton Evening News = date?
Frankfort Death Was Suicide, Pathologist, Crime Expert Say
Both reports of a pathologist who conducted an autopsy and a state crime expert who conducted an investigation indicate that Mrs. Geraldine Patton Williams, 43, West Frankfort widow, was a suicide.
States Attorney Joseph Hickman told the Evening News today that he has received reports from Dr. Frederick L. Kiechle of Evansville, the pathologist, and from Thomas Cole, supervisor of the Identification Section of the Illinois State Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation.
Mrs. Williams body was discovered Sunday morning at Pattons Market, 1716 East Main Street in West Frankfort, the store she operates. Her head had been severed from her body with a band-saw meat cutter that was still running when the body was found.
Dr. Kiechle said in his report, It is my medical opinion that death resulted from suicide on the basis of the available evidence and the autopsy findings. Cole said that on review of photographs and other evidence, his opinion was that the death was suicide.
The pathologist said that there were no signs of injury to the womans scalp, no skull fracture or no brain contusion. He found no needle marks on the body or no skin or hair fragments on or under the fingernails. He said no signs of asphyxiation were noted.
However, Dr. Kiechle said, of course, we cannot rule out the possibility of murder since this patient could have been hypnotized or first smothered, perhaps in a pillow, without leaving specific traces.
Dr. Kiechle did not pinpoint a possible time of death.
Neither Hickman nor Coroner Eugene Dorris had any comment today on the reports. Earlier they said the reports would be used to interpret all the evidence found at the scene of the death. Dorris said that a date has not yet been set for the inquest.
How in the world could they say with a straight face that it was a suicide?!?!?! 
