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Newspaper
Decatur Daily
Location
Decatur, Alabama, United States of America
Date
May 09, 1963
Page
1
Beverly Samans, 26, a Beckley West Virginia native and Boston University graduate student, was found slain in her apartment near Harvard Square. Dr. Delmonico reports 15 stab wounds to the heart, no rape evidence. The murder renews fear after eight similar unsolved slayings in the region since June.
A doctor said the strangling attempt did not cause death and set time of death after 11 p.m. Sunday. Miss Samans, a brunette student living alone in a two room apartment, was found by police with hands bound behind her back. Oliver Chamberlain, 33, an acquaintance, called police after reporting no contact at the apartment and a neighbor saw the victim alive around the time of death. The door was unlocked and no forced entry noted.
Public entertainment evening planned at the Moose Lodge on Moulton St at 8 pm. City clerk issues a building permit for B D Cagle for a house at 1708 Sandra St SW valued at 17000 dollars. Police reports include a stabbing incident at Decatur General Hospital involving Travis Wiggins and an alleged argument with another man. A theft of cookies and socks from a storage room is reported at 901 5th Ave SE. A construction foreman reports an injury to Nancy Jane Boren at 1201 8th St SW. Decatur Toastmasters crowned Dr Tim Ahmadi as best speaker, with Tom Caddell, Ed Piery, and Bob Baur participating. See DIARY on Page 2.
The holiness of God condemns sin and requires cleansing so humans may enter His presence. Sin separates us, making reconciliation essential, yet God loves us and provides salvation through Jesus Christ. Faith is needed, and the Holy Spirit enables repentance and trust, granting reconciliation as a freely offered gift to all who believe.
AP report from Birmingham notes a strategy session among Negro integration leaders to map new demonstrations if the truce unravels. Key figures King, Abernathy, Shuttlesworth and white negotiators planned another meeting, with no noon announcement expected. Police patrols remained heavy as 2,400 arrests marked the tense period.
President Kennedy watched the Birmingham truce closely as federal officials considered options to deepen intervention if the pause in demonstrations faltered. Discussions included federal suits against segregation laws, a high‑level visit, federal injunctions, National Guard federalization, funding withdrawals, and Civil War–era authorities to enforce rights guarantees.
A suit filed in U S District Court seeks to admit two Black men to the all white University of Alabama extension center at Huntsville for the summer session beginning June 10. The plaintiffs Marvin P. Carroll and Dave McGlathery work at Redstone Arsenal in the government missile program and hold degrees from Howard University and Alabama A M, respectively.
The OAS special peace committee delays return to Haiti and the Dominican Republic, signaling that war threats between the two nations have eased. Focus shifts to Haiti’s internal crisis and possible reprisals against foreigners, with 22 political refugees still in Dominican Embassy. Haiti and Dominican relations remain strained as the committee and Ecuadorian and Colombian envoys assess asylum cases and safe passage.
President Kennedy warned of a new round of nuclear tests by the United States and the Soviet Union unless a test ban treaty is negotiated this year. He expressed deep doubt and said such testing would be a disaster for all concerned. He noted no movement toward a ban since last December and warned the genie might be out of the bottle if progress stalls. Kennedy also urged progress on Birmingham race issues, calling for substantial steps by white and Negro leaders, while limiting federal role to mediation unless federal law is violated. He suggested federal action would be warranted if Negro students enter Huntsville’s University of Alabama campus this summer, despite Governor Wallace’s threats. He also supported interracial visits in Knoxville and emphasized national unity on race relations beyond the South.
Cape Canaveral reports astronaut Leroy Cooper Jr. is scheduled for a 22 orbit Mercury mission lasting 34 hours 19 minutes. Faith 7 will fly nearly 600000 miles and cover over one million square miles of earth surface at 100 to 170 miles high.
Unofficial AP reports note the Rev K Owen White of First Baptist Houston was elected president of the Southern Baptist Convention. Other AP items include Mt Everest climber James Whitaker reaching the top May 1 with Sherpa Nwang Gombu, Vatican cancer speculation about the Pope, and a LeFlore County Grand Jury finding in a 1965 race voting case.
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