Chicago Tribune from Chicago, Illinois • 5

Chicago Tribune, Monday, July 2f, 1971 Section 1 5 Physician Gets Running Start as Fugitive BY KOMCIIT KNSTAO A Chicago physician cot a there. remained in Wyoming until last June when he suddenly picked up his bags, free on bond pending trial, as Branion whs, and even fewer are free pending appeal. But Branion won his freedom in one of those "in chambers" abandoned his second wife and flew to I.os Angeles. court argeemenls. Judge Holzer "He blew Cheyenne without notifying us," said Novelle of w.

the state's attorney's office. The slate's attorney's office A xJJ V- 1 A NOW! ITT3 rs attempted to get the Supreme Court to revoke the bond at this point, but again was denied its request. Branion turned up briefly in Chicago and then in fanning start as a fugitive after ha was freed on bond while appealing a conviction for murdering his wife. Last month his last appeal-to the Supreme Court of the United States-failed. But now authorities can't find him to put him in jail and bring to an end 34 years of litigation.

The ease involves Dr. John Marshall Branion whose comfortable lifestyle as a South Side physician was little changed by his conviction. Last Reported In N. Y. Branion was last known by authorities to be in New York City in December, but now he Is believed to be running running from a prison sentence of but when confronted with evidence that he did, he told police it had been stolen from his apartment.

A box designed to hold 25 shells of .38 caliber for the Walther PI'K was found in a closet of the Branion home. Exactly four shells were missing from the box, the same number as fired into Donna Branion. A neighbor in the Branion apartment building at 50. S. Woodlawn Av.

said she heard a commotion and what could have been four shots between 11:30 and 11:45 the morning of the murder. Branion could have been In the apartment at that time, altho no one could testify he was either there or elsewhere during that period. The physician told police he did not examine his wife's body when he found it because he could tell she was dead by the lividity in her legs. Another BONWIT'S PRE-SEASON SALE I fin i i-i New York City with Oscar Brown Jr. OFj OUfl (ENTIRE NEW STOCK OF Last October, the Illinois Su preme Court affirmed Branion's conviction in a 6 to 1 decision.

The majority opinion held that the state "has woven a web of strong circumstantial evidence, strong enough to support a PROPHETIC FURS FOR! I FALL AND WINTER was reported ready to overturn the jury's verdict and order a new trial, but was considered to believe such a move would bring adverse publicity. The state did not wish to try the case again, instead choosing to gamble that the conviction would be upheld on appeal. Thus, the state's attorney's office agreed to bail to avoid a new trial. Branion's indictment bond of $5,000 was allowed to stand as his appeal bond. He was ordered to remain in Illinois and to surrender his passport, but was allowed periodically to go to Indiana to visit his horse.

The stigma of a murder conviction damaged Branion's reputation in his community, and his two children by his marriage to Donna, a son and a daughter, were sent to a boarding school in Indiana. Eventually Branion's attorney asked the Illinois Court, where the appeal was pending, to permit his client to move to Cheyenne, Wyo. Branion claimed he wanted to start a new life as a physician in Wyoming. Moved to Wyoming The state's attorney's office 20 to 30 years for the shooting Dr. John Marshall Branion Jr.

death of his first wife, Donna, 2Sy physician, Dr. Helen Payne, was to testify that lividity was OFF not present in Donna Branion's body when she pronounced the victim dead sometime later. 1 1 Light-hearted furs, lavish furs, Branion Didn't Testify The state attempted to intro 1 I duce evidence involving Bran- 41. Mrs. Branion died in the couple's cooperative apartment on Woodlawn Avenue In what prosecutors said was planned as a perfect crime nearly four years ago.

But it wasn't perfect, the prosecution proved, and this week, besides facing the murder sentence, Branion is expected to be indicted by the county grand jury for jumping bond. That could call for another prison sentence. Authorities were last told that Branion was working as business representative for Oscar on in extramarital affairs in And again, the court denied a request by the state that Branion's bond be denied now that the conviction had been affirmed. The court permitted Branion to remain free while he took his case to the United States Supreme Court. The convicted physician continued to live in New York, moving about from place to place, and then disappearing from the eyes of authority last December.

He was ordered to surrender in Criminal Court here on June 26 after the Supreme Court in Washington declined even to consider the merits of the case. He did not appear and his attorney, Howard T. Savage, said he does not know where his client is. The bond was forfeited, and Branion was named in a an effort to prove a motive. The evidence was ruled Inadmissible by trial Judge Reginald J.

boutique furs, great designer furs every single fur in our new Fall and Winter Collection is available to you now at fabulous pre-season prices! Come see! Holzer. The defendant did not testify on his own behalf. The defense opposed the move, arguing it Fur Salon, Second Floor would lose control over the de fendant in Wyoming, but Jus Brown entertainer and pro- i. case was based primarily on attacking what it called insufficiency of the state's case. But the jurors, after deliberating seven hours, found Branion Inhn Hnnrnrlf Ppntor CWirrtnn I nnar I In.

tice Daniel P. Ward allowed the move. guilty of his wife's slaying. medical school here. He finally went to a medical school in Europe.

He returned to Chicago, married and set up a medical practice in obstetrics and gynecology. The practice was not highly successful. At one time Branion was indicted for being in an abortion ring. He was acquitted of that charge. Investigators found that Branion loved the company of beautiful women, took frequent Colorado skiing trips and stabled some horses in Indiana.

Sometimes he would take one of his woman friends to Indiana to ride horses. Life was full of variety for the physician. Eventually marital problems developed between Branion and his wife, Donna. They had been contemplating divorce on that fateful morning of Dec. 22, 1967, when Branion was seen running out of the apartment screaming for a neighbor.

Says He Found Her Dead Branion had just returned home from his office in Scott Clinic, 5027 S. Prairie he reported to police, and had found Donna dead in the utility room. She had four gunshot wounds in the head, neck and shoulder. There were no signs of forcible entry and nothing was missing from the apartment. Everything pointed toward premeditated murder, the prosecution charged.

Branion thereafter spent only in tneyenne, Branion was married to Miss Hudson, the nurse. As far as Hanrahan's office has determined, however, a few days in County Jail before federal warrant charging un Help stamp out boredom! Get some great ideas for fun tilings to do thru the Weekend pages of Friday's Tribune. winning an appeal bond. Very few accused murderers are lawful flight to avoid incarcer ation. he did not obtain employment aucer, ana High John's Productions at the New Theater, 154 E.

54th New York City. Brown was a cousin of the murdered Mrs. Branion. Personnel at the New Theater deny ever knowing Branion, said Robert Novelle, chief of the Criminal Appeals Division of the state's attorney's office. Oscar Brown whom Novelle believes has been Bran-ion's financial benefactor during the physician's time of trial, is to be questioned about the whereabouts of the missing man.

State Not Surprised "I have a suspicion that the doctor is no longer in this country," Novelle said. "I just sensed that this guy was going to do this. What has he to lose? He Is facing at least 20 years. We will find him sooner or later, but he will give us a merry chase." State's Atty. Edward V.

Han-rahan said Branion is not in jail like most convicted murderers because of what Han-rahan calls "a disgraceful example of special priviliges" given the defendant by the Illinois Supreme Court. Hanra-han's office had been fighting for more than a year to have the Supreme Court revoke Branion's appeal bond. The strange case of the 46- It took a month of work to convince two enterprising detectives, John Manion and Michael Boyle, that the perfect crime was not so perfect after all. They saw the killing as having been motivated by a love triangle. This suspicion was heightened by Branion's trip to Vail, two days after the slaying with a Miss Shirley Hudson.

Miss Hudson, a nurse at Scott Clinic, later married Branion. The case against Branion was Sale Ends Saturday Now's your last chance to save on a wide and inviting selection of fine Baskin clothing. Not our entire stock is on sale, but we've taken additional markdowns and regrouped merchandise in all of our stores. It's a remarkable collection of values. Not all sizes and colors in all styles.

based only on circumstantial f4 "-i evidence. Patrick A. Tuite, former chief of the Criminal Division of the state's attorney's office, who prosecuted the case, agrees it was a difficult case to prove. Basically, the prosecution case was based on the following: Mrs. Branion was shot with a rare Walther PPK .38 caliber pistol, the kind used by the fictional character James Bond.

Branion owned such a gun, which he received as a gift from a close friend, William Hooks. Branion never mentioned to year-old Branion is one of a man who had everything going for him but abused it. Son of Successful Man Branion is the son of the late John Marshall Branion Sr. His father grew up in poverty in Mississippi, was orphaned, at age 13, but worked his way thru school, graduating from the JJniversity of Chicago Law School in 1923. The elder Branion then went on to serve 34 years as an assistant public defender of Cook County, a position that brought the family a steady income.

Branion an only child, did poorly in his studies and coud not gain admission to a HART SCHAFFNER MARX TROPICAL AND YEAR 'ROUND SUITS Were $130 and $150. lOJMIO and 119.00 HART SCHAFFNER MARX TROPICAL AND YEAR 'ROUND SILVER TRUMPETER SUITS W.r.$l65 KlO.OOand HICKEY-FREEMAN TROPICAL SUITS Were 200 and $215. BASKIN TROPICAL AND YEAR 'ROUND 2-TROUSER SUITS Were $100 and $120. HG.flO and 09.00 I police he owned a Walther PPK, HART SCHAFFNER MARX SPORTCOATS 70.00, IM.00 Were 89.95. Were $95 tWvxw Mwfjffxttit A i ru it i 'j I si 4: 'its! BASKIN TROPICAL SUITS 5JI.IMI 4.fMI Wore $75 to $85 1 tt) Vs hi Li "it is 71 ihiS 1 1 SPORTS FURNISHINGS 20 to 10 OIT 6P0RTSHIRTS SLACKS KNIT SHIRTS JACKETS DRESS FURNISHINGS 20 to 40 OFF SHIRTS NECKWEAR HOSIERY UNDERWEAR PAJAMAS STRAW HATS Stait Street Stort Only now y2 mum tvWX 3 1 i Si 1 1 I -u If 1 .1.

k-J if mOMtMHMMiMUHtT STATE AT ADAMS 0AKBR00K OAK PARK RIVER OAKS OLD ORCHARD EVERGREEN PLAZA HIGHLAND PARK RANDHURST EVANSTON i.