Whitehorse Daily Star from Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada • 29

Jf -rv Mi The Whitehorse Star Friday April 6 1979 Page 29 TELESTAR i i i i i Just as some horses run faster than others and some birds fly higher than others so it is with men some are better lovers than others Walter Lewis Samples ranks right up there with the all-time champs in the amour department Walt was a quiet 69-year-old bachelor who lived down South Memphis way As a retired civil engineer who owned a few rent producing properties he indulge in any excesses with of course one exception ladies You might even say his hobby ended up killing him On Feb 27 1941 our doctor received a phone call to come right over Walt figured that the pains which had plagued him for the last three days were not your average tummy ache He told the doc to shake a leg otherwise he figured he would be cashing in his chips Walt proved to have a natural flft as a prognosticator He died in hospital two ays later Before he departed this world Walt had told his doctor about the severe pains It sounded like food poisoning to the medic Tne deceased had described nis last meal as being a breakfast of bacon eggs toast and two glasses of milk He had also mentioned that the milk did not come from his regular dairy A different company had obviously left a free sample on his front porch in an effort to gain new business Fortunately the half filled quart of milk was still in the refrigerator The doctor took one smell and sealed the bottle It smelled of phosphorous A search of the plantation uncovered several milk bottles from the same dairy as the one found in home containing the poison Both Mr and Mrs House were taken into custody for questioning While being searched a will signed by Walt Samples was found in Mrs shoe The will left everything Walt owned to hfrs House Unfortunately the signature on the will proved to be a forgery With the bloodhounds closing in Mr House confessed that he had placed the poisoned milk on porch His confession completely exonerated his wife Despite the confession Mr and Mrs House were placed on trial for first degree murder in June 1941 Both were found guilty and sentenced to 20 years imprisonment The couple appealed and the state Supreme Court ordered a new trial During the second day of their second trial Mrs House got up from her seat and rushed toward the presiding judge She shouted stand it any longer My husband is innocent I did it alone and been trying to protect The courtroom was cleared and the true and final story was told Mrs House confessed She knew of habit of drinking milk at breakfast and had planted the poisoned milk bottle on the porch Despite attempting to be faithful to her husband she could not resist Walt who seemed to have an unnatural hold on her In order to free herself she had killed him What the heck she figured the whole thing might as well pay why she forged Walt's signature on a will which she had typed House broke down and admitted that he had confessed to the crime in an attempt to save his wife He had had nothing to do with it Mrs House was convicted of murder and received 20 years imprisonment The charge against her husband was dismissed lopes They were almost too hot to handle describing intimate relations the senders had had with our boy Walt Some begged to renew old alliances which for some reason or other had smouldered and died Others contained pictures of the senders in various stages of undress All of a sudden the Memphis sleuths had more suspects than enough Each woman was questioned in the strictest confidence for several hgd husbands who just understand Without exception the women all claimed that Walt the old rascal was a terrific lover Many wait for his calls but all professed that they had had nothing to do with his murder The investigation wound down to a standstill Police meticulously checked back into the records to see if Walt had ever been in any trouble with the law The best they could come up with was the fact that he had once been the defendant in a minor suit involving a washing machine A man named Leroy House had brought the suit against Walt in order to get back a washing machine his wife had given to Walt Investigation also revealed that House had owned a prosperous trucking firm in Memphis but had recently sold out and bought a plantation in Mississippi some 150 miles away The police interviewed a former bookkeeper of the trucking firm and found out that House was extremely agitated when he discovered that his wife had dipped into the till to the extent of $7000 in order to pass the money along to Walt When detectives questioned Mr and Mrs House they told all well almost all Mrs House admitted having an affair with Walt which had lasted for years She had tried to break off with the older man but despite her promises to her husband she found that it was impossible Finally House sold his business and moved out of Memphis so his wife could get away from Walt Both denied killing the aged Casanova After death the milk was analysed and sure enough it contained phosphorous crystals and starch the main ingredients used in the manufacture of rat poison An autopsy revealed that Walt had indeed been poisoned Police investigating the murder were surprised to find scores of letters and photographs in the residence All were from women The jtotm-dMaveeileMstestonve-.