J
CHAPEL HILL, NORTH CAROLINA, THURSDAY, AUGUST 5, 1965
CD-
rime Suspect Found, Not Chargec
200 Men
To Hunt
Some 200 men are needed
this afternoon to search Coker
Arboretum for the weapon
used last Friday in the slaying
of UNC coed Suellen Evans.
Male students should assem
ble in front of Graham Me
morial at 1 p.m. where they
will receive instructions for
the search. Old clothes should
be wore.
Student Government Presi
dential Assistant Bob Wilson
said students will be divided
into teams and assigned a
specific area to comb.
Campus Police Chief Arthur
Beaumont, a representative of
the Chapel Hill Police Depart
ment and Wilson will speak
to students before the search
begins.
The object of the search will
be a knife or a similiar instru
ment with a long blade. Town
police said yesterday that any
student finding what they think
might be the weapon should
not touch it, but call one of
the policement who will be on
hand.
Virtually all of the five-acre
garden will be searched. Po
lice have determined what
they think was the route of
exit used by the killer, but
the search will extend to oth
er areas.
A shoulder - to - shoulder
method will be used by stu
dent teams to comb the thick
undergrowth in the Arbore
tum. Plans for the search came
about as the result of an offer
by Student Government to aid
police in the case.
Town police have requested
other help from students. Stu-
Dean Urges
Precautions
Dean of Women Katherine
Carmichael this week again
warned coeds to avoid going
alone through isolated areas
of campus.
Miss Carmichael said that
this was not a policy but a
reminder. All coeds are told
during orientation to walk in
pairs during the day and in
larger groups at night when
in isolated areas of the cam
pus. Terming the brutal murder
of 21-year-old Suellen Evans on
campus Friday as "something
that couldn't happen," the soft
spoken Miss Carmichael urged
all women students who had
been followed or approached
to report to authorities.
"We'll keep all names
anonymous," she said, indi
cating that if students did not
wish to talk to city Dolice, they
could report incidents either
to the'r rosnectiv dormitor
ies, the office of the Dean of
Women, or the cmDus Dolice.
"No students will be embar
assed in any way," Miss Car
jniVhpl promised.
Needed
Weapon
dents who have been ap
proached in the Arboretum
area any time this summer
are asked to report the inci
den to police.
All names will be kept in
what police called "the strict
est condifence." Police said
they would talk to students
who have information "at any
time and at any place."
it it it
Changes Viewed
For Arboretum
Is the Arboretum a threat
to the safety of students?
This question arose soon af
ter the slaying of University
coed Suellen Evans last week
as she walked through the
campus botanical garden.
Dean of Women Katherine
Carmichael commented yes
terday: "Perhaps electrical
lighting could be installed in
the Arboretum. With the co
operation of students the cam
pus could be made safer."
A plan to alter the present
Arboretum setup may be forth
coming from the administra
tion. Student Boby Presidential
Assistant Bob Wilson issued
this statement yesterday:
"Last week, the loss of a
member of our student body
resulted, in part, from the
thickness of certain shrubs
(Continued on Page 7)
p : 1' ft'-:- H J
s
) . Vjf ? Y
t- t : t ' ''
If-
m- -s
1
SCENE OF CRIME: Items carried by Sne- tide of the botanical garden near Raleigh
ellen Evans at the time of her death are Street. Police roped off the area while they
placed into a bag by policemen shortly after conducted an intensive investigation of the
her slaying Friday in the Arboretum. The scene. Photo by Tom Rogers.
21-year-old coed was stabbed to death on the
Police Press Wide Search
For Slayer Of UNC Coed
By ERNEST ROBL
Tar Heel Asst. Editor
The Negro male sought as a
prime suspect in the fatal
stabbing of 21-year-old Univer
siy coed Suellen Evans has
been located and questioned
by the Chapel Hill Police, it
was announced late Wednes
day. The suspect, whom police
declined to Identify, was
brought in for questioning at
7 p.m. and released four hours
later. Police said that the
man was under surveillance
and could be located at any
time for further questioning.
Police said that the man
was brought in both as a wit
ness and a suspect since a
student placed him in the area
of the Arboretum where the
stabbing occurred on Friday.
The student has positively
identified the suspect.
Police said that the man did
not have any scratches or
other injuries. The man was
located with the aid of a tele
phone tip.
Police declined to say
whether the suspect had a
criminal record. The man is
employed in Chapel Hill but
is currently on vacation.
The man denied being in the
area of the botanical garden
at the time of the murder but
offered no alibi. The man's
wife is a University employe.
Capt. Coy E. Durham, act
ing as spokesman for the po
lice, said that the location of
the suspect did not eliminate
other "active suspects," and
3 J 11
4
C V
f
SUELLEN EVANS
...victim
that the investigation would
continue.
Durham declined to com
ment on the State Bureau of
Investigation crime lab report
which the Chapel Hill Police
have received. He said that the
report was "lengthy" and was
now being studied.
Durham also refused to
speculate on when further de
velopments might be made
public.
The man was said to be SO
years old.
According to Police Chief
William Blake, the . student
who provided the description
walks through the Arboretum
"just about every day," and
m- -
-s,
had seen the man on several
occasions.
Blake said that the student
saw the suspect walking to
ward the Arboretum at approx-.
imately 12:15 p.m., shortly be
fore the fatal stabbing, and
again at 1 p.m. leaving the vi
cinity of the botanical garden.
There were no witnesses to
the stabbing, although two
coeds and two nuns reached
Miss Evans shortly before she
collapsed and died on an Ar
boretum path, just inside the
exit across Raleigh Street
from Mclver.
One of the coeds who rushed
to the scene told police that
she saw the arm of a "dark
skinned man,'who was leav
ing the scene. A janitor work
ing in Davie Hall also told
police that he saw a Negro
man coming out of the botani
cal garden near the time of the
attack.
Police records show that
Miss Evans' only words be
fore collapsing were, "He tried
to rape me ... I believe I'm
going to faint." Blake said
that Miss Ev?ns had not been
raped.
Blake said that the autopsy
showed Miss Evans died of 'a
stab wound through the heart.
Police are continuing their
search for a dull knife, with
a blade of four and a half to
six inches in length, believed
to be the murder weapon.
Miss Evans was also
wounded in the neck, presum
ably by the same weapon.
The police said that an area
in the Arboretum showed
signs of a violent strugg e.
Miss Evans' screams sum
moned the coeds and the nuns
who were first to arrive at
the scene.
A telephone call reporting
the screams also brought two
police cars to the scene. Po
licemen immediately sum
moned an ambulance.
While waiting for the ambu
lance to arrive, one of the
nuns administered artificial
respiration, but Miss Evans
was pronounced dead on ar
rival at Memorial Hospital.
Chapel Hill police immedi
ately began a widespread
search, calling extra shifts to
speed the effort, but hitting
dead ends unil they located
the student who provided the
complete description of the
suspect.
The Chapel Hill Board of
Aldermen has given the po
lice department an additional
$500 to cover expenses in the
investigation. Most of this
amount will be used to defray
traveling expenses for officers
going out of town for inter
views with suspects.
Miss Evans, who was stay
ing in 256 West Cobb, was us
ing the Arboretum path as
a short cut back to her dormi
tory when she was attacked
by the unknown assailant.
Funerel service for the home
economics major from Moores
ville was held Sunday in her
home town. Some 800 people
(Continued on Page 7)