The year was 1954, yet it proved to be the trial of the century – it had money, sex, violence and the quintessential suburban American family. It drew a media frenzy and even inspired a television drama and movie, both titled “The Fugitive.”

Dr. Sam Sheppard of Bay Village, Ohio was found guilty for the vicious July 4 murder of his wife, Marilyn. The case was re-tried in 1966 after the Supreme Court ruled, “The massive, pervasive and prejudicial publicity attending petitioner’s prosecution prevented him from receiving a fair trial consistent with the Due Process Clause of the 14th Amendment.”

For 10 years Sheppard sat in jail, pleading his innocence. Attorney F. Lee Bailey was instrumental in convincing the Cleveland appeals court to acquit him. He and the Supreme Court declared that Sheppard had an unfair trial because of excessive pre-trial publicity.

But the true question remained – was Marilyn murdered by her husband Sam or by an intruder the police never identified?

Once again, the case is in the spotlight in former Ohio State Kiplinger professor and investigative journalist, James Neff’s latest book, “The Wrong Man: The Final Verdict on the Sam Sheppard Murder Case,” published by Random House. Neff offers new twists to an old trial. Was Marilyn Sheppard having an affair or were Dr. and Mrs. Sheppard just in an unhappy marriage?

“I decided it would make a good story, so I started researching it. I thought I’d try to solve it,” Neff said. “The chips fall where they may. I grew up thinking he was guilty and discovering he was not.”

Neff uncovers new evidence in his fourth book proving that Sheppard did not beat his wife to death in her bed, but the act was possibly committed by the Sheppard’s window washer, Richard Eberling. Also, blood on Sheppard’s clothing neither belonged to him nor his wife, and sperm not belonging to Sheppard was later found in Marilyn’s vaginal swab.

Though the murder weapon was never found at the time of the act, evidence shows that it could have been a flashlight that later washed up a few months later near the Sheppard’s property.

In this real-life “whodunit,” lack of technology and DNA testing plus relentless publicity at the time of the crime created a media spectacle which condemned Sheppard prior to trial.

“Everybody knew Jim was working on the case because he was always going to meetings and doing various research while he was a professor at Ohio State. At the time he left, about two-and-a-half years ago, he was waiting for the last civil trial to end where Sheppard’s son was trying to clear his dad’s name,” said Dave Richter, former associate professor in the school of Journalism.

Over the past 10 years, James Neff has compiled the most DNA analyses, interviews and crime scene evidence in his research than anyone else related to the case. He is the chairman of Investigative Reporters and Editors, a nonprofit organization providing advanced training to journalists. In this still unsolved case, Neff provides key clues to possibly who murdered Marilyn Sheppard and why.