Mexico Ledger from Mexico, Missouri • Page 1

8 PAGES iltrxtrn Epperson To Court Russell Lee Epperson faced formal arraignment in the Audrain County Magistrate Court today on charges of triple murder, after his surrender yesterday afternoon ended a 10-day manhunt. He told Sheriff Art Riley that he had been at his home at 608 W. Pearson in northwest Mexico, scene of the death of his wife and two children, until Sunday night. The surrender came on the tenth day since the discovery of the bodies of Fern, Richard, and DeAnn Epperson. "He walked in here about noon in broad daylight and said he'd been trying to get to us," his father, J.R.

Epperson, told The Ledger at the senior Epperson's farm home on Route northeast of Mexico. "He wanted to turn himself in, and I called the sheriff." It was 12:50 p.m. when his call tn Sheriff Riley brought the sheriff and Special Deputy Bob King to the farm. He was handcuffed and taken to the Audrain County Jail. The arraignment was scheduled for today, with David W.

Bear Columbia, as a possible attorney for Epperson. Bear said he had received a call and wanted to talk with the accused man. Epperson told officers his mother was supposed to call the attorney about representing him. Sheriff Riley said "After we read him his rights, we asked him if he wanted to make a statement and he said no, that he wanted to talk to his attorney." After the sheriff had taken Epperson into custody and had him in jail, Officers Michael MacPherson and Tom Cline went to the home of Epperson's parents to get belongings he had left there. The sheriff said they got a green jump suit which Epperson had apparently been wearing when he arrived at the Epperson home yesterday and had taken off there before the sheriff arrived.

They did have some mud on them, he said. The sheriff said there was "a bunch" of nylon cord, similar to that which had been tied around a plastic bag over the head of his son when the body was found, in the pockets of the jump suit. The sheriff said Epperson told him he had used to cord to tie the supplies he had been carrying. Also found were a pair of black gloves, a brown ski mask, a pair of socks, and a .22 rifle Epperson had been carrying when he arrived at the home of his parents. Says In House Until Sunday Sheriff Riley said he had asked Epperson where he had been before he went to the home of his parents yesterday.

He said Epperson told him he had stayed at his home at 608 W. Pearson until Sunday night. The sheriff said that fresh bread and meat had been found in the attic of the home earlier this week along with evidence that someone had been sleeping there. Hid For A Day In Cowshed The sheriff said Epperson told him he walked during the night to a cow shed on the Molino road where he stayed the first day. This was across the road from where his father-in-law, R.D.

Barnett, used to live so he was familiar with the area, the sheriff said. Sheriff's officers went to the shed and there found a pillow, a plate, a glass and some books he said he had left there. The sheriff said Epperson told officers he walked the next night and stayed the following day in a ditch northeast of there along Route J. He said he saw the search plane overhead several times that day but remained hidden in the ditch, the sheriff said. Sheriff Riley said Epperson told officers he walked northeast the next night to a barn about a mile from the home of his parents where it is believed he stayed until Friday when he walked across fields to the Epperson home.

Blankets, Skillet In Barn Officers found evidence that someone had been sleeping at the barn, also three blankets, a water jug, a skillet, matches, pillow case, .22 shells and other items which Epperson told them he left there. The sheriff said Epperson told officers he shot and killed a rabbit one day, cooked it over a fire and ate it. Sheriff Riley, when asked if the Epperson home on Pearson street had been sealed after the bodies of Mrs. Epperson and the children were found, said his department did not do so. He said he thought the city police department had it sealed for some time but did not know when it had been turned back over to "the family." Sheriff Riley said the area along which Epperson traveled from his home to the home of his parents was that which had been searched earlier this week by officers with bloodhounds but apparently he had been gone long enough that the dogs could not pick up his scent.

It was shortly after noon on Purple Martin Scout Sighted The first scout for coming flocks of purple martins was reported yesterday north of Mexico. Frank Parker, Route 2, had his first glimpse this season of a martin, apparently the advance scout. He says the apartment house at his place, a mile and a half north of Kaiser Refractories, is ready for the returning tenants. There were five pair there last year. CLOUDY AND WARMER Mexico, Saturday, April 5, 1975 Phone 121st Year No.

Fifteen Cent UNSHAVEN Russell Lee Epperson, wearing the shop shirt and jeans in which he was arrested yesterday afternoon, was photographed at the Audrain County Jail during his booking on warrant issued Wednesday on three charges of murder. Below, he exchanges muddy shoes and clothing for clean apparel at the jail. Special Investigator Mike MacPherson is at right. March 26 when the bodies of the 25-year-old wife, the 6- year-old son, and the 4-year- old daughter were discovered in the home. After local search for the husband, a 24-year-old mechanic at Bob's Auto Clinic, the search was widened and photographs of Epperson were widely distributed.

A coroner's inquest began that day, recessing to await laboratory reports, and was concluded April 1. The jury's verdict was that the three died "from injuries or suffocation believed at the hand of Russell Epperson while committing a felony." At a joint news conference arranged by Prosecuting Attorney Tom Osborne for officers April 2, Osborne said it was believed that Epperson might have left this area and a federal unlawful flight warrant would be sought for him. At that session officers said there was no truth to the rumors that Epperson had hid in the attic of the home, sleeping and eating there, and the statement was made that the house had been locked and sealed since officers left it. Today's Some of the funniest things aren't made up, people actually say them. Here's an example that we came across in the last week.

Two women were walking through a dress shop and the salesperson heard them talking. "You know," said one, "I would really like to wear a topless evening gown sometime." The other answered: "Well Mary, you've certainly got the face for it." Collier, in the Hartford, Times- I'ressi Navy Prepares For Saigon Evacuation FINGER PR I NTS of Epperson were taken by Deputy Sheriff Tom Cline, after the 24-year-old Mexicoan had donned clean clothes. (Ledger Photos by Richard Vance) SAIGON, South Vietnam (AP) A U.S. Navy task force including four aircraft carriers began assembling in the Western Pacific today for possible evacuation of Americans and South Vietnamese from Saigon, official sources said. The sources said the task force had no orders to move into Vietnam waters but the threat to the capital was being assessed by the hour.

No major action was reported around Saigon today but intense fighting was reported to the south in the Mekong River delta. The heavily populated delta was held intact by the government during the North Vietnamese- Viet Cong offensive despite loss of the northern and central parts of the country. Attacks on government positions were also reported near Lai Khe, 30 miles north of Saigon, and near the provincial capital of Ham Tan, 75 miles to the east. Two American ships evacuated 14,000 Vietnamese refugees from Vung Tau southeast of Saigon to Phu Quoc island in the Gulf of Thailand. The U.S.

aircraft carriers Enterprise, Coral Sea, Midway and Hancock were reported in various locations from off the coast of Japan and the Philippines to midway between the Philippines and Ford Confers With Weyand And Kissinger PALM (AP) President Ford is engaged in a series of Vietnam policy review conferences with Secretary of State Henry A. Kissinger and a four-star Army general just back from Vietnam. Ford, who held a midnight meeting' with Kissinger Thursday night, set up the first of two meetings today for shortly after daybreak. Gen. Frederick C.

Weyand, the Army chief of staff, who made a Vietnam fact-finding tour on the President's behalf, was to join the talks. The early hour of the meeting apparently was arranged so Ford could get in a golf game before rejoining Kissinger and Weyand for an afternoon session. Press Secretary Ron Nessen, who promised Kissinger would meet with reporters after the morning conference, said he expected the President to visit one of numerous country clubs in the area. Reporters sought a meeting wtyh Weyand, but Nessen said he did not expect the general to be available for questions. At a news conference Thursday in San Diego, Ford acknowledged the military developments in South Vietnam were serious but said he thought there was "an opportunity to salvage the situation." When Kissinger arrived in Palm Springs Thursday night, he did not embrace Ford's optimistic assessment immediately, saying he wanted to hear first from Weyand before making a judgment.

There was some question among newsmen whether Ford and Weyand were seeing eye-to-eye, although Nessen sought to discount any notion of conflict. Before leaving Saigon, the general described the withdrawal of South Vietnamese forces as a "sound strategic action." Ford, on the other hand, had termed it "improper and unnecessary" and leading to a chaotic situation. Nessen said: "It was a sound strategic decision, but the President thinks that tactically it was improperly carried out." The Ford-Kissinger-Weyand discussion of Vietnam was one prelude to a major foreign policy address that the President will deliver Thursday at 9 p.m. EDT to a joint session of Congress. Ford's "State of the World" address will range far beyond Vietnam, however, and Umi'li on all major fo Indochina, sources said.

All the carriers have attack bombers aboard. A fifth ship, the helicopter carrier Okinawa, is standing by in the Gulf of Thailand off Cambodia for evacuation of Americans from Phnom Penh. It has hundreds of U.S. Marines aboard. Meanwhile, the U.S.

Embassy discounted the possibility of sabotage in the crash Friday of a U.S. Air Force jet carrying Viet-. namese war orphans to America. About 200 of the 319 persons aboard were feared killed when the C5A Galaxy crashed in a rice paddy miles from Saigon's Tan Son Nhut airport shortly after takeoff. It was the second worst aircraft disaster on record.

An embassy spokesman "everything points to mechanical failure. The pilot's report said the aft (rear) pressure doors blew and went through the aft loading doors. They hit the tail and put the elevators out of action. "As he was making his approach to Tan Son Nhut for an emergency landing, he realized he was descending too fast. But he could not use the elevators so he applied power.

But he didn't make it." Pentagon sources said they suspected sabotage because the C5A is built so that controls should not be affected if the doors blow out. Airlift Brings More Orphans As C5A Wreckage Is Probed SAIGON, South Vietnam (AP) Two chartered jumbo jets and two C141 military transport planes roared out of Saigon today carrying nearly 900 Vietnamese orphans to new lives with adoptive parents in the United States. As the planes left with their loads of diapers and baby food and wailing, wriggling investigators sifted the wreckage and hunted bodies a mile and a half from the airport in the wreckage of a U.S. Air Force C5A Galaxy cargo plane which crashed Friday with 243 orphans aboard. The loss of up to 200 lives made it the second worst air tragedy in history.

Forty of the youngsters leaving Saturday were survivors of the Galaxy crash. The first plane to leave carried 31 orphans headed for California and a welcome by President Ford. The plane landed Air Force Base in the Philippines for a stopover before continuing to San Francisco. The largest of the flights carried 409 children. The jumbo jet flight, with 60 adults aboard as escorts, was a private charter by Holt Children's Service, and was not a part of the orphan evacuation ordered Wednesday night by Ford.

The plane was scheduled to stop at Guam, Honolulu, Seattle, Chicago and New York. The Catholic Relief Service said it was selecting American-fathered children from among 250 orphans in its care for priority passage aboard a commercial plane. Meanwhile, the search resumed this morning for more victims of the U.S. Air Force orphan airlift plane that crashed near Saigon Friday with 319 persons aboard. It was feared that more than 140 Vietnamese children and more than 50 adults on the C5A Galaxy perished.

The Viet Cong's spokesman in Saigon, Col. Vo Dong Giang, said, today news of the crash was "heart-rending" but he charged that the airlift of orphans was part of a "forced evacuation" of population. In Sydney, Australia, 212 Vietnamese orphans arrived from Saigon by way of Bangkok and were met by Australian adoptive parents. Ten of them were ill, two critically. They clutched airline magazines, coloring books and empty air sickness bags as souvenirs of the trip.

The children, who included about 80 infants, were receiving mediqal and quarantine checks at a government installation. Early next week they will meet foster parents assigned before the trip. Australia agreed to take an unlimited number of Vietnamese orphans. Fear Law Order Breakdown In Saigon WASHINGTON (AP) Law arid "order "may break down in Saigon if Communists 'Continued on Page 2) New Phone Number Required For Orphan Calls WASHINGTON (AP) The overwhelming number of calls regarding Vietnamese orphans has forced the Agency for International Development to establish a new telephone number for its other services, officials said. The action was taken after callers inquiring about orphans tied up the entire toll- free facilities of the telephone companies on the East Coast, an AID spokesman said Friday.

The new toll-free referral number of AID is 800 368-1180, but officials asked that it be used only for inquiries not related to orphans. They said no further calls will be accepted at the old AID toll-free number. The AID spokesman said all of the 2,000 orphans being brought to this country have been found homes, and urged that persons interested in helping orphans contact their local welfare or adoption agencies. Persons unsure of what local agency to contact may write the American Council of Voluntary Agencies for Foreign Service, 200 Park Ave. South, New York, N.Y.

10003, attention Mrs. Dao Spencer. Adoption requests will be channeled to local agencies, which will contact the applicants. Full Day Winds Up Area Music Festival Thousands of high school musicians from throughout Northeast Missouri again converged on Mexico today for the final day of the annual evaluative music festival. The mixed chorus of Mexico opened the afternoon competition in vocal ensembles, with 19 ensembles to sing before the festival close.

The morning session today opened with band and orchestra competition. Following are ratings for vocal and instrumental solos and ensembles: Mixed chorus, Montgomery City boys glee, Louisiana mixed chorus, Wright City mixed chorus, New Franklin mixed chorus, Elsberry girls glee, Glasgow girls glee, Community R-6 girls glee, Monroe City mixed chorus, Louisiana mixed chorus, Paris boys glee, MM A Montgomery City mixed chorus, Winfield girls glee, New Bloomfield girls glee, South Callaway girls glee, Sturgeon mixed chorus, Community R-6 girls glee, Madison mixed chorus, Hallsville chamber choir, Louisiana 1. Piano and vocal, Erdel, Community R-6 vocal, boys double quartet No. 1, Louisiana mixed double quartet, Fayette Richardson, Louisiana Chism, Higbee 2 plus; Fisher, Silex- Montgomery 2 plus; girls sextet Uobb, Higbee two plus; girls sextet No. 1, Paris nirls sextet, Winfield 3 Clopton boys quartet, New Franklin 2 minus; mixed double quartet, Clopton 2 plus; girls sextet, Madison 1 minus; Edwards, Higbee girls sextet, Fayette girls trio, Winfield girls sextet, Ashland girls trio No.

2, Mark Twain 2. Instrumental, Johnson, Paris 2 minus; Grigher, Paris 1 minus; Taylor, Clopton 1 minus; clarinet trio No. 1, Monroe City sax trio, Glasgow mixed clarinet quartet, Monroe City Schuesher, Van-Far mixed clarinet quartet, Centralia Russell MM A Stringer, Van-Far clarinet quartet, New Bloomfield brass quartet, MMA Leut, Van- Far sax trio, New Franklin clarinet trio, Clopton tympani, Van-Far percussion ensemble, Mark Twain Webster, Westran 1 minus; percussion ensemble, New Franklin 1. Instrumental, clarinet trio No. 2, Montgomery City clarinet quartet, Sturgeon clarinet quartet, Mark Twain Breneman, Van-Far Anderson, Fayette Morris, Van-Far McMurty, Wellsville-Middletown flute quartet, Centralia Grossman, Wellsville-Mid- dletpwn Hampton, Louisiana Langewisch, New Franklin flute trio No.

2, Community R-6 Mitchel, Winfield Alexander, Mark Twain Brewer, Elsberry Sutton, Van-Far Presley, Wells ville-Middletown Wellsville-Middletown 1. Instrumental, brass quartet, Mark Twain MMA Leiby, Sturgeon trombone trio, Mark Twain Gastler, Wellsville-Middletown trumpet quartet, Mark Twain trumpet trio, Wellsville- Middletown 1 minus; trumpet quartet, Louisiana Eckler, Community R-6 horn trio, Mark Twain 1 minus; trumpet quartet, Wellsville-Middletown 1 minus; Whalen, Community R-6 flute trio, Clopton tuba trio, Montgomery City Strodman, Glasgow Hoyt, Community R-6 Howard, New Franklin 2. Instrumental, trombone quartet, Montgomery City Walter, Wright City trumpet quartet, MMA Maestas, Wright City trumpet trio, Mark Twain Rood, New Franklin flute quartet, Clopton 2. Instrumental, flute trio No. 1, Louisiana Burnett, New Franklin clarinet quartet, Winfield trumpet trio, Westran Speiser alto sax, Glasgow horn trio, Westran trumpet trio, Glasgow sax trio, Paris Sutton, Van- Far brass quartet, Montgomery City Righter, Community R-6 mixed clarinet quartet, Clopton Peterson, Glasgow brass quintet, Montgomery City Quinley, New Franklin trombone trio, Westran brass sextet, Klsberry sax quartet, 2, HaiUiian,.