Sanford Murders 1933

SANFORD, SHIPLEY, VANDER VELDEN, SHIELDS, SIEGERS

Posted By: Mary Donahue (email)
Date: 6/1/2009 at 16:04:40

Four Killed In Reasnor Shooting

Fourteen-Year Old Girl Made Orphan By Event
Shooting Believed To Have Occurred About 8:00 A.M. Yesterday
Girl Finds Body of Father Upon Return Home From School; Inquest Is Held This Afternoon At Home

Reasnor, March 11 – Special – Lucille Sanford, 14, who by a turn of fate left at 7:00 a.m. yesterday for her school work at Monroe, today is an orphan.

Sometime between then and 5:00 o’clock yesterday afternoon, estimated at 8:00 a.m., the other three members of her family were killed at their farm two miles southeast of here in what authorities termed an attack of a madman, who ended the carnage by shooting himself.

The dead, all victims of shots from a 12-gauge shotgun, were

Floyd Sanford, 40, father, shot in back.
Bessie Lee Sanford, 38, mother, shot in face.
Rosilee Sanford, 12, daughter, shot in side of head.
Mahland Shipley, 60, hired hand, shot in chest.

Inquest was being held by County Coroner E. A. McMurray at the Sanford home, beginning at 1:00 this afternoon.

County Coroner McMurray and County Attorney Siegers spent the morning in the Reasnor neighborhood arranging for the inquest.

Funeral arrangements have not been made.

Lucille, who rides back and forth to Monroe high school on a pony, had returned from school late yesterday afternoon, placed her pony in the barn, and started to the house when she discovered her father, lying face downward, in the yard. Failing to rouse him, she screamed in fright, started for the house, but changed her mind, and dashed to the barn to get her pony and rode to the home of a neighbor, Mathis Vander Velden, a half a mile away, for help
Notifies Officers

Mr. Vander Velden investigated the situation and notified Sheriff Earl Shields of Newton at once, County Attorney P. J. Siegers accompanied him to the scene of the shooting.

Further investigation revealed the bodies of Mrs. Sanford and her daughter, and of Mr. Shipley lying in the kitchen.

It is believed, according to the theory of the affair as given by the officers, that Mr. Shipley, whom Lucille Sanford told Sheriff shields, had been in bad humor yesterday morning at the breakfast table, that he had shot the mother and daughter in the kitchen, then followed Mr. Sanford, whom it is thought was fleeing from the house, and shot him in the back.
Returns to Kitchen

Shipley, then is believed to have returned to the kitchen, placed the butt of the long shotgun against a sill, aimed it at his chest, and pushed the trigger with a long shingle that was found lying by his side.

Shots were heard by neighbors at 8:00 o’clock yesterday morning, giving cause for the belief that the tragedy took place then.

Mr. Shipley had worked for the Sanford family about two years ago, helping with corn picking.

A few months ago, he returned to the Sanford home, and continued to stay from day to day. Lucille told authorities, it was learned today, the Mr. Shipley had become disgruntled over wages.

From the Newton Daily News, Newton, Jasper Co., Iowa, Saturday afternoon, 11 Mar 1933.