~~~ My heartfelt gratitude to Pixie, for sponsoring my brother-in-law's memorial. What a beautiful day can be when kindness touches it as you have ~~~
Emmitt Junior Shipp, 29, a farmer of White Rose Road, Campbellsville, son of Emmitt Shipp and Viola Caulk Shipp, was born in Marion County, September 21, 1956. He died at 10 a.m., Sunday, March 16, 1986, at his home. He was a member of the Mt. Washington Baptist Church. He united in marriage to Carol Dickens May 21, 1983. Besides his wife, he is survived by his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Emmitt Shipp, Campbellsville; one brother and three sisters, two sister in laws, several nieces, nephews and many other relatives and friends. Funeral services were at 2 p.m., Tuesday, March 18, at the Parrott & Ramsey Funeral Home in Campbellsville by the Rev. James Hagan. Burial was in the Mt. Washington Baptist Church Cemetery.
SHIPP, EMMETT; 21 Sept 1956; TAYLOR; mother CAULK THERESA Kentucky Death Index, cd's SHIPP, EMMITT J; age 29; death place TAYLOR; residence TAYLOR; death date 16 Mar 1986
Beloved Husband of Elizabeth Carol Dickens Shipp. Junior had left his house to go check on the cattle. My sister told him to wait and she would go with him, he went on without her. After she got dressed and went outside she seen him laying next to the garage, when she got to him, she noticed the little puppy he had gave her 2 weeks before, laying on his chest. When she removed the puppy, she noticed he had shot himself in the heart. Her life would never be the same.
Cause of death : Suicide
His fathers cause of death : Suicide
His mother cause of death : Cancer
Story's of Junior's Grandpa Clarence Shipp
Adair County News, 1902
Clarence Shipp, who shot and killed Richard Hord and Dave Allen and wounded two other men, on Scott's ridge, Marion county, is now in the Lebanon jail, he having surrendered to officers of Taylor county, who turned him over to the jailer of Marion county. He is only eighteen years old. His 11 year old brother, charged with being implicated with him in the killing, is also in jail. Their pictures indicate that they would not turn from any character of crime. (Adair County News, July 24, 1901) Clarence Shipp, who was acquitted at Lebanon ten days ago, upon a murder charge, has married his sixteen year-old cousin, who testified in his favor. (Adair County News, March 5, 1902.)
Junior's Grandpa Clarence Shipp shot and killed his own son in law Oakley C. Mardis
Gracie and Oakley had one child, but it died within hours of birth.
The Enterprise, Lebanon, Ky., Friday, October 31, 1941
MURDER COUNTY IS DISMISSED
Finley Man, Accused Slayer Of Son-In-Law, Is Freed After Examination
SIX OFFER TESTIMONY
Clarence Shipp, 60, gray-haired Finley farmer and landowner, heard a murder charge against him dismissed Tuesday when he was arraigned before Judge R. L. Weatherford in the County Court for examination. "You see what justice can do," he said to friends who extended congratulations as he left the court room.
The dismissal of the case followed a motion to that effect by Mr. Shipp's counsel. C. C. Boldrick and Henry G. Boldrick, on the ground that no direct testimony introduced by the Commonwealth had established the fact that it was the defendant who fired the shotgun which fatally wounded his son-in-law Oakley C. Mardis, 33, last Thursday afternoon. Defense evidence was not presented, the case having been dismissed when the Commonwealth had finished interrogation of its witnesses.
Surrenders To Authorities
Mr. Shipp surrendered to local authorities last Friday morning, at the time allegedly admitting that he fired a shotgun at Mardis on the property occupied by his daughter, Mrs. Sheridan Hunt and family in the Clear Creek section between Finley and St. Joseph. He gave bond in the sum of $1,000 for his appearance at his examining trial, charged with malicious shooting and wounding another. When Mardis succumbed to the wounds at the J. A. Baute Memorial Hospital here Friday night, Shipp's charge was changed to murder and his bond increased.
Sheriff Roy B. Hourigan told much of the version of the shooting which was prevalent in Lebanon the latter part of last week. He said that upon learning that Mr. Shipp had come here to surrender to him last Friday morning he went to the office of C. C. Boldrick where he had been told Shipp had gone. He said Shipp was there and that he (Shipp) related that the preceding afternoon he had received a phone call from his daughter, Mrs. Hunt, stating that she was alone with the children and that someone was trying to break into her house. The Sheriff testified that Mr. Shipp said he immediately went in a car to the Hunt residence and that Mardis, from behind a knoll, fired two shots from a pistol at him as he was getting out of the auto. Mr. Hourigan quoted Mr. Shipp as having said that he returned the fire with a shotgun.
Coroner Williams Testifies
Clarence Williams, County Coroner who was first to take the stand, said that he was called to the scene of the shooting Thursday night and arrived about 8 o'clock. George Pruitt and Jesse Raley were with him. He said he found Mardis on what he learned was Ernest Shipp's land.
Mardis, whom he knew and recognized, was not dead but had been peppered with shotgun pellets about the head, face, arms and chest. A .38 calibre pistol was at his left side and there was considerable blood on the ground. He appeared to have been shot from several angles, the coroner stated. In cross examination he said that a knife and pocketbook were taken from the injured man's clothing after he had been brought to the local hospital in an ambulance. He couldn't determine whether or not Mardis had been drinking, he stated. He said that the pistol found by the body had three loaded shells and two empty ones in it.
Undertaker On Stand.
George -----------, Lebanon funeral director who drove the ambulance, also told of the location of the shots and expressed belief that they were sufficient to have caused death. He also described the position of Mardis when he arrived and said that he saw the small knoll nearby.
George McNear, uncle of the slain man, testified that Mardis came to his home about 2 o'clock Thursday morning, that they talked the remainder of the night and that early the next morning Mardis' brother, Wesley Mardis, joined them. He said that the brothers remained all morning and that when he left the house to come to Lebanon about noon, they told him they were going squirrel hunting. On cross examination he denied any of them had been drinking, said that Oakley Mardis did not own a gun, insofar as he knew, and that he had never heard a threat made against members of the Shipp family.
Sheriff Tells Of Investigation
Sheriff Hourigan, who was placed on the stand immediately after Mr. McNear, told further of his investigation at the Hunt property where the shooting occurred. He said that he saw the knoll, a few feet from where Mardis' body had been lying, and related that the grass and weeds on it were slightly blood-stained. He found two shotgun shells and some No. 5 shots in the vicinity. An inspection of the home, he testified, revealed that a door leading from a porch to the house had been battered with a heavy tool and that he found a sledge hammer there. He also went to the nearby home of Lee Shipp, and inspected the Shipp car which, he said, had a pistol shot in the right rear door. He said it looked like a .38 calibre bullet and that the car door had apparently been open when the weapon was fired, judging by the way the shot had entered it. The Sheriff then related the story he said Clarence Shipp had told him at the time he surrendered.
Mrs. Hunt Not Eyewitness
Mrs. Hunt was on the stand but a few minutes. She said she was alone with her two small Children when an attempt was made to enter her house last Thursday afternoon. She stated that her father, mother and brother did not come to her home until after the firing had taken place, and claimed that she did not see but only heard the shooting. She said that her father told her that he had shot Mardis in self defense.
The last witness, Wesley Mardis, was on the stand nearly an hour. He said he had been living in Louisville for some time and only recently had returned to Finley. He saw his brother Wednesday afternoon and the two, with two others, drank a half pint of whiskey. He told how he and his brother went to Campbellsville later in the afternoon, returned to Finley between 8 and 9 o'clock that night and decided to sleep in a corn crib near the home of an uncle, Jim McNear. He denied that either of them had been drinking.
No Threats Against Shipps
About 2 o'clock the following morning, he said that he went to the Jim McNear home and that Oakley Mardis left, saying that he was going to the home of George McNear. He corroborated George McNear's testimony about his having joined his brother at the George McNear residence the next morning, and having remained there until about 3:30 o'clock in the afternoon when the two brothers went squirrel hunting. He emphasized that no threats of any kind were made against the Shipp family. He said Oakley left him about a quarter mile from the Hunt home, stating that he wanted to talk to Sheridan Hunt and that he'd be back in a little while.
The witness said that he heard five shots fired, three from a shotgun, and about five minutes later, two from a pistol. He estimated that the shots were fired about 4:30 o'clock. He said that he didn't investigate. When asked why he did not, he said that he felt that "if he'd kill my brother, he'd kill me."
In cross examination, he continued to deny that either he or his brother had been drinking Wednesday night or Thursday but later said that maybe they were not perfectly sober. He said that he was "positive" that the first three shots heard were those from a shotgun but afterward merely claimed that "they sounded like it to me." He said that neither he nor any of the McNears went to the scene of the shooting. Asked by the counsel for the defense if he were sure that he and his brother weren't on a spree, he answered in the negative.
Dismissal Protested Vigorously
Walter Chelf, acting County Attorney, protested vigorously against a dismissal of the case but his protests were without avail.
The slain Mardis was bron January 14, 1908, and was a son of the late William and Sophrona McNear Mardis. Several years ago he was united in marriage to Miss Grace Shipp, daughter of Clarence Shipp, and to the union one child was born. It died in Infancy. The couple have been separated for some time and Mrs. Mardis now makes her home in Louisville.
Surviving, other than his estranged wife, and his brother, Wesley, are two brothers, Hubert and Leonard Mardis of Louisville, and two sisters, Mrs. Willard Sanders of Campbellsville and Mrs. Charles Stimpson of Louisville.
Funeral services were conducted at the Don V. Drye Funeral Home Sunday afternoon at 2 o'clock by the Rev. Garnett Puckett and burial was in New Market Cemetery. Pallbearers were Oscar Simpson, Douglas Wade, J. H. Simpson, T. Lampton, Donsey Cooper and Bert Luckett.
Emmitt Junior Shipp, 29, a farmer of White Rose Road, Campbellsville, son of Emmitt Shipp and Viola Caulk Shipp, was born in Marion County, September 21, 1956. He died at 10 a.m., Sunday, March 16, 1986, at his home. He was a member of the Mt. Washington Baptist Church. He united in marriage to Carol Dickens May 21, 1983. Besides his wife, he is survived by his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Emmitt Shipp, Campbellsville; one brother and three sisters, two sister in laws, several nieces, nephews and many other relatives and friends. Funeral services were at 2 p.m., Tuesday, March 18, at the Parrott & Ramsey Funeral Home in Campbellsville by the Rev. James Hagan. Burial was in the Mt. Washington Baptist Church Cemetery.
SHIPP, EMMETT; 21 Sept 1956; TAYLOR; mother CAULK THERESA Kentucky Death Index, cd's SHIPP, EMMITT J; age 29; death place TAYLOR; residence TAYLOR; death date 16 Mar 1986
Beloved Husband of Elizabeth Carol Dickens Shipp. Junior had left his house to go check on the cattle. My sister told him to wait and she would go with him, he went on without her. After she got dressed and went outside she seen him laying next to the garage, when she got to him, she noticed the little puppy he had gave her 2 weeks before, laying on his chest. When she removed the puppy, she noticed he had shot himself in the heart. Her life would never be the same.
Cause of death : Suicide
His fathers cause of death : Suicide
His mother cause of death : Cancer
Story's of Junior's Grandpa Clarence Shipp
Adair County News, 1902
Clarence Shipp, who shot and killed Richard Hord and Dave Allen and wounded two other men, on Scott's ridge, Marion county, is now in the Lebanon jail, he having surrendered to officers of Taylor county, who turned him over to the jailer of Marion county. He is only eighteen years old. His 11 year old brother, charged with being implicated with him in the killing, is also in jail. Their pictures indicate that they would not turn from any character of crime. (Adair County News, July 24, 1901) Clarence Shipp, who was acquitted at Lebanon ten days ago, upon a murder charge, has married his sixteen year-old cousin, who testified in his favor. (Adair County News, March 5, 1902.)
Junior's Grandpa Clarence Shipp shot and killed his own son in law Oakley C. Mardis
Gracie and Oakley had one child, but it died within hours of birth.
The Enterprise, Lebanon, Ky., Friday, October 31, 1941
MURDER COUNTY IS DISMISSED
Finley Man, Accused Slayer Of Son-In-Law, Is Freed After Examination
SIX OFFER TESTIMONY
Clarence Shipp, 60, gray-haired Finley farmer and landowner, heard a murder charge against him dismissed Tuesday when he was arraigned before Judge R. L. Weatherford in the County Court for examination. "You see what justice can do," he said to friends who extended congratulations as he left the court room.
The dismissal of the case followed a motion to that effect by Mr. Shipp's counsel. C. C. Boldrick and Henry G. Boldrick, on the ground that no direct testimony introduced by the Commonwealth had established the fact that it was the defendant who fired the shotgun which fatally wounded his son-in-law Oakley C. Mardis, 33, last Thursday afternoon. Defense evidence was not presented, the case having been dismissed when the Commonwealth had finished interrogation of its witnesses.
Surrenders To Authorities
Mr. Shipp surrendered to local authorities last Friday morning, at the time allegedly admitting that he fired a shotgun at Mardis on the property occupied by his daughter, Mrs. Sheridan Hunt and family in the Clear Creek section between Finley and St. Joseph. He gave bond in the sum of $1,000 for his appearance at his examining trial, charged with malicious shooting and wounding another. When Mardis succumbed to the wounds at the J. A. Baute Memorial Hospital here Friday night, Shipp's charge was changed to murder and his bond increased.
Sheriff Roy B. Hourigan told much of the version of the shooting which was prevalent in Lebanon the latter part of last week. He said that upon learning that Mr. Shipp had come here to surrender to him last Friday morning he went to the office of C. C. Boldrick where he had been told Shipp had gone. He said Shipp was there and that he (Shipp) related that the preceding afternoon he had received a phone call from his daughter, Mrs. Hunt, stating that she was alone with the children and that someone was trying to break into her house. The Sheriff testified that Mr. Shipp said he immediately went in a car to the Hunt residence and that Mardis, from behind a knoll, fired two shots from a pistol at him as he was getting out of the auto. Mr. Hourigan quoted Mr. Shipp as having said that he returned the fire with a shotgun.
Coroner Williams Testifies
Clarence Williams, County Coroner who was first to take the stand, said that he was called to the scene of the shooting Thursday night and arrived about 8 o'clock. George Pruitt and Jesse Raley were with him. He said he found Mardis on what he learned was Ernest Shipp's land.
Mardis, whom he knew and recognized, was not dead but had been peppered with shotgun pellets about the head, face, arms and chest. A .38 calibre pistol was at his left side and there was considerable blood on the ground. He appeared to have been shot from several angles, the coroner stated. In cross examination he said that a knife and pocketbook were taken from the injured man's clothing after he had been brought to the local hospital in an ambulance. He couldn't determine whether or not Mardis had been drinking, he stated. He said that the pistol found by the body had three loaded shells and two empty ones in it.
Undertaker On Stand.
George -----------, Lebanon funeral director who drove the ambulance, also told of the location of the shots and expressed belief that they were sufficient to have caused death. He also described the position of Mardis when he arrived and said that he saw the small knoll nearby.
George McNear, uncle of the slain man, testified that Mardis came to his home about 2 o'clock Thursday morning, that they talked the remainder of the night and that early the next morning Mardis' brother, Wesley Mardis, joined them. He said that the brothers remained all morning and that when he left the house to come to Lebanon about noon, they told him they were going squirrel hunting. On cross examination he denied any of them had been drinking, said that Oakley Mardis did not own a gun, insofar as he knew, and that he had never heard a threat made against members of the Shipp family.
Sheriff Tells Of Investigation
Sheriff Hourigan, who was placed on the stand immediately after Mr. McNear, told further of his investigation at the Hunt property where the shooting occurred. He said that he saw the knoll, a few feet from where Mardis' body had been lying, and related that the grass and weeds on it were slightly blood-stained. He found two shotgun shells and some No. 5 shots in the vicinity. An inspection of the home, he testified, revealed that a door leading from a porch to the house had been battered with a heavy tool and that he found a sledge hammer there. He also went to the nearby home of Lee Shipp, and inspected the Shipp car which, he said, had a pistol shot in the right rear door. He said it looked like a .38 calibre bullet and that the car door had apparently been open when the weapon was fired, judging by the way the shot had entered it. The Sheriff then related the story he said Clarence Shipp had told him at the time he surrendered.
Mrs. Hunt Not Eyewitness
Mrs. Hunt was on the stand but a few minutes. She said she was alone with her two small Children when an attempt was made to enter her house last Thursday afternoon. She stated that her father, mother and brother did not come to her home until after the firing had taken place, and claimed that she did not see but only heard the shooting. She said that her father told her that he had shot Mardis in self defense.
The last witness, Wesley Mardis, was on the stand nearly an hour. He said he had been living in Louisville for some time and only recently had returned to Finley. He saw his brother Wednesday afternoon and the two, with two others, drank a half pint of whiskey. He told how he and his brother went to Campbellsville later in the afternoon, returned to Finley between 8 and 9 o'clock that night and decided to sleep in a corn crib near the home of an uncle, Jim McNear. He denied that either of them had been drinking.
No Threats Against Shipps
About 2 o'clock the following morning, he said that he went to the Jim McNear home and that Oakley Mardis left, saying that he was going to the home of George McNear. He corroborated George McNear's testimony about his having joined his brother at the George McNear residence the next morning, and having remained there until about 3:30 o'clock in the afternoon when the two brothers went squirrel hunting. He emphasized that no threats of any kind were made against the Shipp family. He said Oakley left him about a quarter mile from the Hunt home, stating that he wanted to talk to Sheridan Hunt and that he'd be back in a little while.
The witness said that he heard five shots fired, three from a shotgun, and about five minutes later, two from a pistol. He estimated that the shots were fired about 4:30 o'clock. He said that he didn't investigate. When asked why he did not, he said that he felt that "if he'd kill my brother, he'd kill me."
In cross examination, he continued to deny that either he or his brother had been drinking Wednesday night or Thursday but later said that maybe they were not perfectly sober. He said that he was "positive" that the first three shots heard were those from a shotgun but afterward merely claimed that "they sounded like it to me." He said that neither he nor any of the McNears went to the scene of the shooting. Asked by the counsel for the defense if he were sure that he and his brother weren't on a spree, he answered in the negative.
Dismissal Protested Vigorously
Walter Chelf, acting County Attorney, protested vigorously against a dismissal of the case but his protests were without avail.
The slain Mardis was bron January 14, 1908, and was a son of the late William and Sophrona McNear Mardis. Several years ago he was united in marriage to Miss Grace Shipp, daughter of Clarence Shipp, and to the union one child was born. It died in Infancy. The couple have been separated for some time and Mrs. Mardis now makes her home in Louisville.
Surviving, other than his estranged wife, and his brother, Wesley, are two brothers, Hubert and Leonard Mardis of Louisville, and two sisters, Mrs. Willard Sanders of Campbellsville and Mrs. Charles Stimpson of Louisville.
Funeral services were conducted at the Don V. Drye Funeral Home Sunday afternoon at 2 o'clock by the Rev. Garnett Puckett and burial was in New Market Cemetery. Pallbearers were Oscar Simpson, Douglas Wade, J. H. Simpson, T. Lampton, Donsey Cooper and Bert Luckett.
~~~ My heartfelt gratitude to Pixie, for sponsoring my brother-in-law's memorial. What a beautiful day can be when kindness touches it as you have ~~~
Emmitt Junior Shipp, 29, a farmer of White Rose Road, Campbellsville, son of Emmitt Shipp and Viola Caulk Shipp, was born in Marion County, September 21, 1956. He died at 10 a.m., Sunday, March 16, 1986, at his home. He was a member of the Mt. Washington Baptist Church. He united in marriage to Carol Dickens May 21, 1983. Besides his wife, he is survived by his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Emmitt Shipp, Campbellsville; one brother and three sisters, two sister in laws, several nieces, nephews and many other relatives and friends. Funeral services were at 2 p.m., Tuesday, March 18, at the Parrott & Ramsey Funeral Home in Campbellsville by the Rev. James Hagan. Burial was in the Mt. Washington Baptist Church Cemetery.
SHIPP, EMMETT; 21 Sept 1956; TAYLOR; mother CAULK THERESA Kentucky Death Index, cd's SHIPP, EMMITT J; age 29; death place TAYLOR; residence TAYLOR; death date 16 Mar 1986
Beloved Husband of Elizabeth Carol Dickens Shipp. Junior had left his house to go check on the cattle. My sister told him to wait and she would go with him, he went on without her. After she got dressed and went outside she seen him laying next to the garage, when she got to him, she noticed the little puppy he had gave her 2 weeks before, laying on his chest. When she removed the puppy, she noticed he had shot himself in the heart. Her life would never be the same.
Cause of death : Suicide
His fathers cause of death : Suicide
His mother cause of death : Cancer
Story's of Junior's Grandpa Clarence Shipp
Adair County News, 1902
Clarence Shipp, who shot and killed Richard Hord and Dave Allen and wounded two other men, on Scott's ridge, Marion county, is now in the Lebanon jail, he having surrendered to officers of Taylor county, who turned him over to the jailer of Marion county. He is only eighteen years old. His 11 year old brother, charged with being implicated with him in the killing, is also in jail. Their pictures indicate that they would not turn from any character of crime. (Adair County News, July 24, 1901) Clarence Shipp, who was acquitted at Lebanon ten days ago, upon a murder charge, has married his sixteen year-old cousin, who testified in his favor. (Adair County News, March 5, 1902.)
Junior's Grandpa Clarence Shipp shot and killed his own son in law Oakley C. Mardis
Gracie and Oakley had one child, but it died within hours of birth.
The Enterprise, Lebanon, Ky., Friday, October 31, 1941
MURDER COUNTY IS DISMISSED
Finley Man, Accused Slayer Of Son-In-Law, Is Freed After Examination
SIX OFFER TESTIMONY
Clarence Shipp, 60, gray-haired Finley farmer and landowner, heard a murder charge against him dismissed Tuesday when he was arraigned before Judge R. L. Weatherford in the County Court for examination. "You see what justice can do," he said to friends who extended congratulations as he left the court room.
The dismissal of the case followed a motion to that effect by Mr. Shipp's counsel. C. C. Boldrick and Henry G. Boldrick, on the ground that no direct testimony introduced by the Commonwealth had established the fact that it was the defendant who fired the shotgun which fatally wounded his son-in-law Oakley C. Mardis, 33, last Thursday afternoon. Defense evidence was not presented, the case having been dismissed when the Commonwealth had finished interrogation of its witnesses.
Surrenders To Authorities
Mr. Shipp surrendered to local authorities last Friday morning, at the time allegedly admitting that he fired a shotgun at Mardis on the property occupied by his daughter, Mrs. Sheridan Hunt and family in the Clear Creek section between Finley and St. Joseph. He gave bond in the sum of $1,000 for his appearance at his examining trial, charged with malicious shooting and wounding another. When Mardis succumbed to the wounds at the J. A. Baute Memorial Hospital here Friday night, Shipp's charge was changed to murder and his bond increased.
Sheriff Roy B. Hourigan told much of the version of the shooting which was prevalent in Lebanon the latter part of last week. He said that upon learning that Mr. Shipp had come here to surrender to him last Friday morning he went to the office of C. C. Boldrick where he had been told Shipp had gone. He said Shipp was there and that he (Shipp) related that the preceding afternoon he had received a phone call from his daughter, Mrs. Hunt, stating that she was alone with the children and that someone was trying to break into her house. The Sheriff testified that Mr. Shipp said he immediately went in a car to the Hunt residence and that Mardis, from behind a knoll, fired two shots from a pistol at him as he was getting out of the auto. Mr. Hourigan quoted Mr. Shipp as having said that he returned the fire with a shotgun.
Coroner Williams Testifies
Clarence Williams, County Coroner who was first to take the stand, said that he was called to the scene of the shooting Thursday night and arrived about 8 o'clock. George Pruitt and Jesse Raley were with him. He said he found Mardis on what he learned was Ernest Shipp's land.
Mardis, whom he knew and recognized, was not dead but had been peppered with shotgun pellets about the head, face, arms and chest. A .38 calibre pistol was at his left side and there was considerable blood on the ground. He appeared to have been shot from several angles, the coroner stated. In cross examination he said that a knife and pocketbook were taken from the injured man's clothing after he had been brought to the local hospital in an ambulance. He couldn't determine whether or not Mardis had been drinking, he stated. He said that the pistol found by the body had three loaded shells and two empty ones in it.
Undertaker On Stand.
George -----------, Lebanon funeral director who drove the ambulance, also told of the location of the shots and expressed belief that they were sufficient to have caused death. He also described the position of Mardis when he arrived and said that he saw the small knoll nearby.
George McNear, uncle of the slain man, testified that Mardis came to his home about 2 o'clock Thursday morning, that they talked the remainder of the night and that early the next morning Mardis' brother, Wesley Mardis, joined them. He said that the brothers remained all morning and that when he left the house to come to Lebanon about noon, they told him they were going squirrel hunting. On cross examination he denied any of them had been drinking, said that Oakley Mardis did not own a gun, insofar as he knew, and that he had never heard a threat made against members of the Shipp family.
Sheriff Tells Of Investigation
Sheriff Hourigan, who was placed on the stand immediately after Mr. McNear, told further of his investigation at the Hunt property where the shooting occurred. He said that he saw the knoll, a few feet from where Mardis' body had been lying, and related that the grass and weeds on it were slightly blood-stained. He found two shotgun shells and some No. 5 shots in the vicinity. An inspection of the home, he testified, revealed that a door leading from a porch to the house had been battered with a heavy tool and that he found a sledge hammer there. He also went to the nearby home of Lee Shipp, and inspected the Shipp car which, he said, had a pistol shot in the right rear door. He said it looked like a .38 calibre bullet and that the car door had apparently been open when the weapon was fired, judging by the way the shot had entered it. The Sheriff then related the story he said Clarence Shipp had told him at the time he surrendered.
Mrs. Hunt Not Eyewitness
Mrs. Hunt was on the stand but a few minutes. She said she was alone with her two small Children when an attempt was made to enter her house last Thursday afternoon. She stated that her father, mother and brother did not come to her home until after the firing had taken place, and claimed that she did not see but only heard the shooting. She said that her father told her that he had shot Mardis in self defense.
The last witness, Wesley Mardis, was on the stand nearly an hour. He said he had been living in Louisville for some time and only recently had returned to Finley. He saw his brother Wednesday afternoon and the two, with two others, drank a half pint of whiskey. He told how he and his brother went to Campbellsville later in the afternoon, returned to Finley between 8 and 9 o'clock that night and decided to sleep in a corn crib near the home of an uncle, Jim McNear. He denied that either of them had been drinking.
No Threats Against Shipps
About 2 o'clock the following morning, he said that he went to the Jim McNear home and that Oakley Mardis left, saying that he was going to the home of George McNear. He corroborated George McNear's testimony about his having joined his brother at the George McNear residence the next morning, and having remained there until about 3:30 o'clock in the afternoon when the two brothers went squirrel hunting. He emphasized that no threats of any kind were made against the Shipp family. He said Oakley left him about a quarter mile from the Hunt home, stating that he wanted to talk to Sheridan Hunt and that he'd be back in a little while.
The witness said that he heard five shots fired, three from a shotgun, and about five minutes later, two from a pistol. He estimated that the shots were fired about 4:30 o'clock. He said that he didn't investigate. When asked why he did not, he said that he felt that "if he'd kill my brother, he'd kill me."
In cross examination, he continued to deny that either he or his brother had been drinking Wednesday night or Thursday but later said that maybe they were not perfectly sober. He said that he was "positive" that the first three shots heard were those from a shotgun but afterward merely claimed that "they sounded like it to me." He said that neither he nor any of the McNears went to the scene of the shooting. Asked by the counsel for the defense if he were sure that he and his brother weren't on a spree, he answered in the negative.
Dismissal Protested Vigorously
Walter Chelf, acting County Attorney, protested vigorously against a dismissal of the case but his protests were without avail.
The slain Mardis was bron January 14, 1908, and was a son of the late William and Sophrona McNear Mardis. Several years ago he was united in marriage to Miss Grace Shipp, daughter of Clarence Shipp, and to the union one child was born. It died in Infancy. The couple have been separated for some time and Mrs. Mardis now makes her home in Louisville.
Surviving, other than his estranged wife, and his brother, Wesley, are two brothers, Hubert and Leonard Mardis of Louisville, and two sisters, Mrs. Willard Sanders of Campbellsville and Mrs. Charles Stimpson of Louisville.
Funeral services were conducted at the Don V. Drye Funeral Home Sunday afternoon at 2 o'clock by the Rev. Garnett Puckett and burial was in New Market Cemetery. Pallbearers were Oscar Simpson, Douglas Wade, J. H. Simpson, T. Lampton, Donsey Cooper and Bert Luckett.
Emmitt Junior Shipp, 29, a farmer of White Rose Road, Campbellsville, son of Emmitt Shipp and Viola Caulk Shipp, was born in Marion County, September 21, 1956. He died at 10 a.m., Sunday, March 16, 1986, at his home. He was a member of the Mt. Washington Baptist Church. He united in marriage to Carol Dickens May 21, 1983. Besides his wife, he is survived by his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Emmitt Shipp, Campbellsville; one brother and three sisters, two sister in laws, several nieces, nephews and many other relatives and friends. Funeral services were at 2 p.m., Tuesday, March 18, at the Parrott & Ramsey Funeral Home in Campbellsville by the Rev. James Hagan. Burial was in the Mt. Washington Baptist Church Cemetery.
SHIPP, EMMETT; 21 Sept 1956; TAYLOR; mother CAULK THERESA Kentucky Death Index, cd's SHIPP, EMMITT J; age 29; death place TAYLOR; residence TAYLOR; death date 16 Mar 1986
Beloved Husband of Elizabeth Carol Dickens Shipp. Junior had left his house to go check on the cattle. My sister told him to wait and she would go with him, he went on without her. After she got dressed and went outside she seen him laying next to the garage, when she got to him, she noticed the little puppy he had gave her 2 weeks before, laying on his chest. When she removed the puppy, she noticed he had shot himself in the heart. Her life would never be the same.
Cause of death : Suicide
His fathers cause of death : Suicide
His mother cause of death : Cancer
Story's of Junior's Grandpa Clarence Shipp
Adair County News, 1902
Clarence Shipp, who shot and killed Richard Hord and Dave Allen and wounded two other men, on Scott's ridge, Marion county, is now in the Lebanon jail, he having surrendered to officers of Taylor county, who turned him over to the jailer of Marion county. He is only eighteen years old. His 11 year old brother, charged with being implicated with him in the killing, is also in jail. Their pictures indicate that they would not turn from any character of crime. (Adair County News, July 24, 1901) Clarence Shipp, who was acquitted at Lebanon ten days ago, upon a murder charge, has married his sixteen year-old cousin, who testified in his favor. (Adair County News, March 5, 1902.)
Junior's Grandpa Clarence Shipp shot and killed his own son in law Oakley C. Mardis
Gracie and Oakley had one child, but it died within hours of birth.
The Enterprise, Lebanon, Ky., Friday, October 31, 1941
MURDER COUNTY IS DISMISSED
Finley Man, Accused Slayer Of Son-In-Law, Is Freed After Examination
SIX OFFER TESTIMONY
Clarence Shipp, 60, gray-haired Finley farmer and landowner, heard a murder charge against him dismissed Tuesday when he was arraigned before Judge R. L. Weatherford in the County Court for examination. "You see what justice can do," he said to friends who extended congratulations as he left the court room.
The dismissal of the case followed a motion to that effect by Mr. Shipp's counsel. C. C. Boldrick and Henry G. Boldrick, on the ground that no direct testimony introduced by the Commonwealth had established the fact that it was the defendant who fired the shotgun which fatally wounded his son-in-law Oakley C. Mardis, 33, last Thursday afternoon. Defense evidence was not presented, the case having been dismissed when the Commonwealth had finished interrogation of its witnesses.
Surrenders To Authorities
Mr. Shipp surrendered to local authorities last Friday morning, at the time allegedly admitting that he fired a shotgun at Mardis on the property occupied by his daughter, Mrs. Sheridan Hunt and family in the Clear Creek section between Finley and St. Joseph. He gave bond in the sum of $1,000 for his appearance at his examining trial, charged with malicious shooting and wounding another. When Mardis succumbed to the wounds at the J. A. Baute Memorial Hospital here Friday night, Shipp's charge was changed to murder and his bond increased.
Sheriff Roy B. Hourigan told much of the version of the shooting which was prevalent in Lebanon the latter part of last week. He said that upon learning that Mr. Shipp had come here to surrender to him last Friday morning he went to the office of C. C. Boldrick where he had been told Shipp had gone. He said Shipp was there and that he (Shipp) related that the preceding afternoon he had received a phone call from his daughter, Mrs. Hunt, stating that she was alone with the children and that someone was trying to break into her house. The Sheriff testified that Mr. Shipp said he immediately went in a car to the Hunt residence and that Mardis, from behind a knoll, fired two shots from a pistol at him as he was getting out of the auto. Mr. Hourigan quoted Mr. Shipp as having said that he returned the fire with a shotgun.
Coroner Williams Testifies
Clarence Williams, County Coroner who was first to take the stand, said that he was called to the scene of the shooting Thursday night and arrived about 8 o'clock. George Pruitt and Jesse Raley were with him. He said he found Mardis on what he learned was Ernest Shipp's land.
Mardis, whom he knew and recognized, was not dead but had been peppered with shotgun pellets about the head, face, arms and chest. A .38 calibre pistol was at his left side and there was considerable blood on the ground. He appeared to have been shot from several angles, the coroner stated. In cross examination he said that a knife and pocketbook were taken from the injured man's clothing after he had been brought to the local hospital in an ambulance. He couldn't determine whether or not Mardis had been drinking, he stated. He said that the pistol found by the body had three loaded shells and two empty ones in it.
Undertaker On Stand.
George -----------, Lebanon funeral director who drove the ambulance, also told of the location of the shots and expressed belief that they were sufficient to have caused death. He also described the position of Mardis when he arrived and said that he saw the small knoll nearby.
George McNear, uncle of the slain man, testified that Mardis came to his home about 2 o'clock Thursday morning, that they talked the remainder of the night and that early the next morning Mardis' brother, Wesley Mardis, joined them. He said that the brothers remained all morning and that when he left the house to come to Lebanon about noon, they told him they were going squirrel hunting. On cross examination he denied any of them had been drinking, said that Oakley Mardis did not own a gun, insofar as he knew, and that he had never heard a threat made against members of the Shipp family.
Sheriff Tells Of Investigation
Sheriff Hourigan, who was placed on the stand immediately after Mr. McNear, told further of his investigation at the Hunt property where the shooting occurred. He said that he saw the knoll, a few feet from where Mardis' body had been lying, and related that the grass and weeds on it were slightly blood-stained. He found two shotgun shells and some No. 5 shots in the vicinity. An inspection of the home, he testified, revealed that a door leading from a porch to the house had been battered with a heavy tool and that he found a sledge hammer there. He also went to the nearby home of Lee Shipp, and inspected the Shipp car which, he said, had a pistol shot in the right rear door. He said it looked like a .38 calibre bullet and that the car door had apparently been open when the weapon was fired, judging by the way the shot had entered it. The Sheriff then related the story he said Clarence Shipp had told him at the time he surrendered.
Mrs. Hunt Not Eyewitness
Mrs. Hunt was on the stand but a few minutes. She said she was alone with her two small Children when an attempt was made to enter her house last Thursday afternoon. She stated that her father, mother and brother did not come to her home until after the firing had taken place, and claimed that she did not see but only heard the shooting. She said that her father told her that he had shot Mardis in self defense.
The last witness, Wesley Mardis, was on the stand nearly an hour. He said he had been living in Louisville for some time and only recently had returned to Finley. He saw his brother Wednesday afternoon and the two, with two others, drank a half pint of whiskey. He told how he and his brother went to Campbellsville later in the afternoon, returned to Finley between 8 and 9 o'clock that night and decided to sleep in a corn crib near the home of an uncle, Jim McNear. He denied that either of them had been drinking.
No Threats Against Shipps
About 2 o'clock the following morning, he said that he went to the Jim McNear home and that Oakley Mardis left, saying that he was going to the home of George McNear. He corroborated George McNear's testimony about his having joined his brother at the George McNear residence the next morning, and having remained there until about 3:30 o'clock in the afternoon when the two brothers went squirrel hunting. He emphasized that no threats of any kind were made against the Shipp family. He said Oakley left him about a quarter mile from the Hunt home, stating that he wanted to talk to Sheridan Hunt and that he'd be back in a little while.
The witness said that he heard five shots fired, three from a shotgun, and about five minutes later, two from a pistol. He estimated that the shots were fired about 4:30 o'clock. He said that he didn't investigate. When asked why he did not, he said that he felt that "if he'd kill my brother, he'd kill me."
In cross examination, he continued to deny that either he or his brother had been drinking Wednesday night or Thursday but later said that maybe they were not perfectly sober. He said that he was "positive" that the first three shots heard were those from a shotgun but afterward merely claimed that "they sounded like it to me." He said that neither he nor any of the McNears went to the scene of the shooting. Asked by the counsel for the defense if he were sure that he and his brother weren't on a spree, he answered in the negative.
Dismissal Protested Vigorously
Walter Chelf, acting County Attorney, protested vigorously against a dismissal of the case but his protests were without avail.
The slain Mardis was bron January 14, 1908, and was a son of the late William and Sophrona McNear Mardis. Several years ago he was united in marriage to Miss Grace Shipp, daughter of Clarence Shipp, and to the union one child was born. It died in Infancy. The couple have been separated for some time and Mrs. Mardis now makes her home in Louisville.
Surviving, other than his estranged wife, and his brother, Wesley, are two brothers, Hubert and Leonard Mardis of Louisville, and two sisters, Mrs. Willard Sanders of Campbellsville and Mrs. Charles Stimpson of Louisville.
Funeral services were conducted at the Don V. Drye Funeral Home Sunday afternoon at 2 o'clock by the Rev. Garnett Puckett and burial was in New Market Cemetery. Pallbearers were Oscar Simpson, Douglas Wade, J. H. Simpson, T. Lampton, Donsey Cooper and Bert Luckett.
