OH OH - James Silvers, 32, New Paris, 11 April 1979

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Excerpts from articles in the James Silvers case...
http://triplehomicide.proboards55.com/index.cgi?board=justice&action=display&thread=1169538169

Authorities have opened an investigation into a 1979 death originally reported as the suicide of a man whose body was found under the floor, wrapped in sheets and burned.

Silvers' parents called police because he had been missing for a week. Ralph Silvers, his father, also told police he noticed a strong odor when visiting the house.

Silvers was last seen April 10 by co-workers at Mosey Manufacturing Co. in Richmond, according to the articles.
The body was found April 18. Police investigators talked with the widow in May. The day the body was discovered she was admitted to the Reller Five section for mental health at Reid Hospital, suffering severe trauma and shock.

She admitted to keeping the body wrapped up. She placed it beneath the floor on April 17, according to the articles. The death was investigated as a questioned death, which meant it could have been an accident, suicide or homicide.

The Preble County Coroner's office said the cause of death was a self-inflicted shotgun wound to the face.

The death was ruled a suicide, but investigators and police involved would not indicate why, the articles said.
 
Eaton,Ohio: Family asks county to look into death of New Paris man - from November 2003 articles

EATON, Ohio - The body of a New Paris man who died 24 years ago was exhumed Tuesday for an autopsy. The Preble County Prosecutor's office and Sheriff's Department is expecting the
new autopsy to be completed this week.

The body of James J. Silvers, 32, was removed from his grave at his family's request. Preble County Coroner Dr. John Vosler ordered the exhumation. The family is not making comments at this time, said their spokesman Steve Clapp, who is Silvers' cousin....

... The body was sent to the Miami Valley Regional Crime Laboratory in Montgomery County for the new autopsy. In 1979, the Montgomery County Coroner's Office performed the autopsy. Simpson said the autopsy would look at what was done in 1979 and a conclusion could be made about the cause of death...

... EATON, Ohio - James Silvers' body was returned to its grave Thursday but questions that led officials to seek an autopsy 24 years after he died are yet to be answered.

The body was exhumed Tuesday morning and taken to the Miami Valley Regional Crime Laboratory in Montgomery County for an autopsy. Autopsy results were not yet available Friday when a family member had a news conference to discuss the case.

Silvers was 32 when he died on about April 11, 1979. He had been missing a week before police were called. They found the body on April 18. Steve Clapp asked for Silvers, his cousin, to be exhumed. He said accusing fingers are not being pointed at anyone but questions need to be answered.

"The family just wants a thorough investigation," Clapp said. "It's been very hard to live with the mystery." Clapp said he had reviewed the case for about a year. In May, he asked for the
Preble County Prosecutor's office and sheriff's department to reopen the case. His decision was not easy. "It reopens a lot of wounds," Clapp said. "I didn't go into this lightly."

Clapp said strange circumstances, a review of photographs of the victim and questions about the ballistics led to the request. He had poor photographs to look at, he said, but he believes there was extensive damage at the wound. There also were questions about the way the investigation was handled. Many
agencies at the time were involved in the investigation, including New Paris Police and offices of the county sheriff, prosecutor and coroner. The Ohio Criminal Bureau of Investigation and Montgomery County Coroner's offices also were involved.

"The (police) chief of New Paris at the time was young and inexperienced. I feel he did his best, but he may have been overwhelmed by the experience," Clapp said. Tim McCombs was police chief at the time.

Problems also were found with J.R. Williams' report. Williams was the Montgomery County Coroner who performed the original autopsy. Clapp said errors included how a shotgun blast spreads.
"When it (the death) occurred, there were a lot of sketchy details. After that it was never talked about much," Clapp said.

Curiosity led him to review the case. As a retired investigator with the Ohio Department of Public Safety, he said he had access to some of the files. Preble County Investigative Coroner David Lindloff said the goal of exhuming the body was to help provide answers and closure for the family.

Lindloff worked on the case in 1979. At the time he was a road deputy with the New Paris Police. It would take a considerable amount of time to look at the information and results of the autopsy, he said. When he first began reviewing the case, he
found the evidence in the New Paris police station's property room.

"It's a matter of reconstructing what was left and then making a determination from there," Lindloff said.
Lindloff said the autopsy wasn't the only information investigators are going on. He said advances in forensics and laboratory tests could help. Investigators are trying to provide answers for how Silvers died.

"It's already helped. We know certain things that couldn't have happened," Lindloff said.

Silvers' death

Silvers died around April 11, 1979, in his home at 207 Burley St., New Paris. According to Palladium-Item articles at the time, Silvers' parents called police because he had been missing for a week. Ralph Silvers, his father, also told police he noticed a strong odor when visiting the house.

Silvers was last seen April 10 by co-workers at Mosey Manufacturing Co. in Richmond, according to the articles.
The body was found April 18. Police investigators talked with the widow in May. The day the body was discovered she was admitted to the Reller Five section for mental health at Reid Hospital, suffering severe trauma and shock.

She admitted to keeping the body wrapped up. She placed it beneath the floor on April 17, according to the articles. The death was investigated as a questioned death, which meant it could have been an accident, suicide or homicide.

The Preble County Coroner's office said the cause of death was a self-inflicted shotgun wound to the face.

The death was ruled a suicide, but investigators and police involved would not indicate why, the articles said.

Clapp said there had been attempts to destroy the body, including burning. The body was found in water in the crawl space, which damaged evidence. "We're hoping we can gather good solid evidence from the forensics," Clapp said.
"I was told that they gathered a lot of useful information and that the body was in good shape."...

LINK:

James Silvers "suicide" | Preble County/Consolidated Road Murders (Triple Homicide, 1987)
 

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