Hide Article Text (OCR)
By ALLAN TURNER Globe News Staff Writer A jury of five women and seven men which found Frankie Odum, 25, guilty of murder with a plice in connection with the death of Clem Eugene Pope was to return to 47th District Court this morning to assess punishment. Odum was passive as Judge Gene Jordan read the jury's verdict at 3:40 p.m. Wednesday The jury deliberated about 40 minutes before reaching its verdict Although Odum had been indicted for murder and robbery, under law, he could be convicted of only one offense. Testimony in the three-day trial was completed by 11 a.m. Wednesday Court reconvened at 1 p.m for closing arguments. In his closing comments, Odum's defense attorney questioned the credibility of state witnesses linking Odum to the killing. All that remains to be explained,’’ Odum’s attorney said at one point, ‘‘is how blood got on the butcher knife taken from the Odum kitchen.” The attorney quoted Odum’s wife as saying she had partially washed the knife after using it to cut chicken. The attorney suggested that soap used to wash the knife caused inaccurate test readings. An FBI stain examiner, in earlier testimony, had said soap and other household items could interfere with test accuracy Odum’s attorney also repeated a claim that police had coerced the defendant's wife into signing a consent to search form. Dist. Atty. Tom Curtis, in his final remarks, said testimony by Frank Fales, who claimed to have murdered Pope, was false. Fales is Odum's uncle. He was convicted on a robbery charge stemming from the Pope incident, and is serving a life sentence in state prison as a habitual criminal. ‘Uncle Frank had one last chance to cheat and steal,” Curtis told the jury. ‘‘He’s done for, but he had one final chance to steal justice from the state and from the prosecution and he did his best.” Curtis criticized counsel for the defense for what he called “insulting the intelligence of the jury. The case for the prosecution had ‘developed better than expected’’ and was backed by direct evidence ‘There is no other explanation of the evidence,’ Curtis said, “than the guilt of this defendant in the killing of this poor fellow Pope.”
Newspaper Details
Amarillo Globe Times
Amarillo, Texas, US
Thu, Oct 10, 1974
Page 52
Full Page
Clipped by
Anonymous
USA 10 Jul 2026
Other Publications Near Amarillo, Texas
Amarillo Sunday News Globe
Amarillo Globe News
Amarillo News Globe
Amarillo Daily News
Amarillo Globe
