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INDIANAPOLIS —pl— Chief Investigator Bernard Sweeney of the state fire marshal’s office said Wednesday night that he is “very anxious” to call a photographer as a witness after belatedly learning of a picture taken of the Halloween explo sion. Sweeney said he wanted to know when Carl Defenderfer Jr., took the photograph appear ing in a current issue of a na tional magazine, Life. + +t HE SAID the column of flame in the picture appears to sub stantiate his theory that there was only one detonation which was partially extinguished and then rekindled, rather than two separate explosions as most wit nesses have said. Seventy-one persons were killed and nearly 400 injured by the blast, or blasts. Sweeney said Defenderfer is the only new witness he now plans to call before a fire mar shal’s hearing, but emphasizd that other information could change this. The Marion County grand jury, which is conducting a probe of the tragedy, heard some 10 witnesses Wednesday in its efforts to determine if any “crimes of omission or commis sion” were involved. THE GRAND jury will return to consideration of other mat ters Thursday but may hear additional witnesses later in its investigation of the blast. Sweeney, the Indiana State Police and the Indianapolis Fire Department are preparing a report of their co-ordinated findings after 14 days of in vestigation. However, they do not plan to complete the report until they receive the results of tests on five liquid petroleum gas tanks taken from a room beneath the stands. Such tests are underway now at Purdue Unversity. he SWEENEY WAS told by a newsman that Marion County Prosecutor Noble R. Peavcy wanted more information about a permit which the state fire marshal’s office issued to the Indianapolis Coliseum Corpora tion certifying the building had been approved as safe for public assembly, up to Dec. 31, 1963. He said he would be glad to give the grand jury any infor mation he has. However, he said the permits were issued routinely on an annual basis after an inspection and did not authorize use of LP-gas tanks inside the building. “We don’t issue permits to break the law” he said. “If it was illegal to have gas in there, it still is illegle, permit or no permit.” Indiana Attorney Gen. Edwin K. Steers Wednesday asked and received directions from the Indiana State Fair Board on how to proceed in replying to damage suits which have been filed against the board, along with other defendants, by persons injured in the blast. Steers pointed out that the state constitution provides that no one may sue the state with out the consent of the state and that an Appellate Court ruling further holds that such an in vocation of immunity refers only to amounts claimed in excess of insurance. The successive appearances of Halley’s Comet have been traced to 240 B. C. It was first depicted in the Nuremburg Chronicle of 684 A. D.
Newspaper Details
Terre Haute Star
Terre Haute, Indiana, US
Thu, Nov 14, 1963
Page 6
Full Page
Clipped by
Amy M.
USA 15 Jul 2026
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