Meet the real fugitive who inspired the character of Dr. Richard Kimble.

David Janssen plays Dr. Richard Kimble in The Fugitive TV series – Harrison Ford plays Dr. Richard Kimble in The Fugitive movie. Both the TV series and the movie are adaptations of the real fugitive – Dr. Sam Sheppard from Cleveland, Ohio.

In the TV series a one-armed man is burglarizing the Kimble’s home when Helen Kimble walks in and surprises him. After he murders her, Richard Kimble comes home and surprises the one-armed man. They struggle and the one-armed man knocks Dr. Kimble unconscious.

In the movie a one-armed man is burglarizing the Kimble’s home when Helen Kimble comes home after attending a lavish Christmas party with her husband. After he murders her, Richard Kimble walks in and surprises the one-armed man. They struggle and the one-armed man knocks Dr. Kimble unconscious.

In real life a bushy-haired man bludgeons Marilyn Sheppard to death while she’s in bed and Sam Sheppard is downstairs sleeping on a day bed. When his wife’s screams awaken him, Sam runs upstairs and encounters the bushy-haired man. They struggle and the bushy-haired man knocks Dr. Sheppard unconscious – not once – but twice.

In all three versions the doctor is convicted of murder. In all three versions the doctor gets out of prison and pursues the real killer.

In the first two versions we know we’re dealing with fiction. But in the real-life version – to this day – we don’t know if we’re dealing with fact – or fiction.

We’ll dig deeper into the Sam Sheppard murder case. My name’s Barry Bowe – I’m America’s Best Crime Writer – and my new crime fiction Cleopatra Murdered is out at Amazon, Kindle, and most book sellers – get your copy while the supply lasts.