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n., Wednesday, January 10, 1973, Page 10Former Emporia resident(Continued from page 1) where he is a patient, said:“I tried to work with him on this. His mother tried to talk to him, too. But he wouldn’t listen. He just hated white folks.”Essex’ family — the parents, a daughter and three other sons — “were a good family and the parents always provided everything for their children,” Mr. Chambers said. “I just don’t know what happened.”The family was in seclusion.Mrs. Chambers, the minister’s wife, recalled that Essex “came home from the Navy and he couldn’t keep a job He couldn’t stand taking orders from white people.Merle Hayes, Emporia police chief, said many questions he fielded after Essex’ identity was made known concerned the youth’s possible involvement with militant groups. Hayes said “we have no evidence to support” this line of inquiry.“When he was in Emporia, when he lived here, he apparently came from a normal family which had no problems at all.”The family, he said, “reacted like any family would in a similar situation. Of course they were shocked and I think the community has a responsibility to help them recover from this.”School administrators and teachers who knew Essex remember him as a normal student and one who got along well with his classmates.Robert Lodel, principal at Emporia High when Essex was a student there, describes him as average.“He got along well with the staff and students here. I had a lot of respect for him,” Lodel said. “He was very congenial, not a loner. He was well-received and well-liked here. A change must have occurred after high school.”Ixyd Cobb, an instructor at the Area Vocational Technical School where Essex spent part of his last two years before high school graduation, said “he had a pleasing personality and made above-average grades in the program.”He described Essex as clean cut, adding he “didn’t overly use profanity or slang, he didn’tsmoke.”“The only report I can give you is positive,” Cobb added.Frank Nelson, Essex’s high school biology teacher, said he was shocked to hear the news and said he couldn’t believe the New Orleans sniper and the student he knew could be the same person.
Newspaper Details
Olathe Daily News
Olathe, Kansas, US
Wed, Jan 10, 1973
Page 10
Full Page
Clipped by
Salina P.
KS, USA 17 Jul 2023
Other Publications Near Olathe, Kansas
Olathe Daily News
