A look back: Murders shocked the community

The headline on July 31, 1973, said it all.

"Police Hunt Slayer of Three" ran on the top of the front page of The Evening Review with a smaller headline underneath, "Man, Woman And Child Murdered."

The news rippled through the community concerning the July 30, 1973, brutal death of all three, one a prominent city businessman, the pregnant woman and her daughter. Law enforcement officers from all over descended upon East Liverpool attempting to catch the suspect. With a few witnesses and even fewer leads, the murderer was never apprehended.

For a city unaccustomed to such a heinous crime, the initial news and the follow-up investigation continued for weeks.

Last Wednesday, 35 years to the day, a crowd gathered at the spot along Dresden Avenue to remember those slain. Candles were lit, flowers were placed alongside the same building and family members and friends remembered the lives cut short.

Here are excerpts from the pages of The Evening Review from July 31, 1973 ...

"East Liverpool Police today were gathering new clues pointing toward a suspect in the Monday noontime slayings of an elderly Dresden Avenue businessman, a young pregnant mother and her child in one of the most brutal multiple murders in the city's history.

Dead are Earl A. Tweed, 75, of 115 W. 3rd St., operator of the National Furniture Upholstering and Repair Co. of 759 Dresden Ave.

Mrs. Arthur (Linda) Morris, 22, of 684 Lincoln Ave., whom police say was expecting another child, and Angela Lynn Morris, 4, her daughter.

Police surmise Mrs. Morris and her daughter went into the Dresden Avenue store and shop and came upon a robbery in progress.

The body of Mrs. Morris and her severely injured daughter were discovered about 1 p.m. by a Chicago, Ill., woman who entered the shop to inquire about antiques.

Mrs. Frances Dugan, a nurse, ran outside and shouted across the street to someone to "Call the police, something terrible has happened."

The child was rushed to City Hospital, but died at 1:56 p.m.

Detective William Devon, heading the investigation in the absence of vacationing Det. Capt. Kenneth Mooney, said statements from four witnesses indicate one male is involved in the slaying. A man was seen running in the area.

The killings were timed about lunch time. Mr. Tweed was visited about 11:30 a.m. by Charles Inman of 225 W. 8th St., who did part time work for Mr. Tweed.

Mrs. Dugan entered the store about 1 p.m., and police received the telephone call shortly after.

Mr. Tweed was several feet away from the woman and her daughter, and the first call to the police said only a woman and child were found.

The building housing the business is located on the west side of Dresden Avenue south of Allison's Meat Market. It is a two-story brick structure with a basement and one main floor.

Mrs. Morris reportedly went to the store to talk with Mr. Tweed about renting a home.

She was wearing a blue t-shirt and checked pants. Her purse was found in a pool of blood. Friends reported she was in her fourth month of pregnancy.

Mrs. Lettie Morris, Linda's mother-in-law, was in another downtown store shopping, when someone asked her if she had heard about the murder.

She hurried to the scene because she knew her daughter-in-law was going to see Tweed about a home.

Police described the clothes of the slain woman to Mrs. Morris, and she burst into tears. She was taken to City Hospital.

Mrs. Morris was found about 30 feet from the front of the store which is crowded with furniture and antiques, with a narrow aisle to the office and rear of the store.

Her body was on a mattress which had fallen from a standing position partially onto the floor.

Her daughter was to the left of that area.

Another dark aisle led to an open space and wash room some feet behind where Mrs. Morris was found. Tweed was discovered lying in this area, about four feet in front of a basement stairway.

Tweed was stabbed and beaten, Mrs. Morris was brutally beaten, as was her daughter.

On a chair nearby were two slices of bread and meat which indicated Mr. Tweed may have been preparing his lunch at the time of the intrusion.

He was wearing dark colored pants, a dark shirt and dark shoes.

Lying in a pool of blood on the floor were three items that may have been possible weapons a knife, wrench and claw hammer.

Later in the afternoon, police received a telephone call that papers were strewn in the area of steps and the freeway fence, about a block from the scene.

Patrolman James Buckley, dispatched to the scene, found the papers which belonged to the murdered man and he searched the area and discovered Mr. Tweed's wallet. There was no money inside.

Mrs. Morris was the wife of Arthur Lewis Morris known as Louie who began working for the city street department June 18, hired under the Emergency Employment Act.

Mayor Norman Butcher, Councilman Homer Mercer and other members of the city administration took Morris to the hospital.

Working with Devon are Police Chief Americo Radeschi, Detectives Kenneth Montgomery and Charles Coen, and the entire police force."

Today, Homer Mercer is once again a city councilman and said he remembers the day. He said himself and other employees drove for a long time trying to locate Mr. Morris. They took him directly to the hospital.

Mercer also remembered Tweed as a kind, generous man who was well-liked in the community.

In the days that followed the murders, new evidence and further statements were gathered and sifted. Investigators attempted to pinpoint a suspect.

Four members of the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation assisted in the process. During the some 36 hours following the slayings, more than two dozen items from the store were collected as evidence.

Members of the city's detective bureau flew to another city in the state to interrogate a suspect.

A reward was offered for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person responsible.

Today, police Chief Mike McVay said the case is still open.

"We still get tips every now and then and we follow up on anything we can," McVay said. "This is still an open case."

As advancements are made in technology, McVay said his department uses every available method to help identify a potential suspect. For instance, fingerprints lifted at the scene were entered into a national computer database.

The chief said the department still maintains crime scene evidence collected 35 years ago.

"It gets tougher and tougher each year that passes to be able to keep some of the evidence," McVay admitted. However, the chief said he will continue to follow every lead possible and take advantage of emerging technology.

The event held Wednesday was to not only remember the victims, but to encourage anyone to offer information about the crime.

The Columbiana County Families of Homicide Victims sponsored the ceremony Wednesday and is working to help bring suspects to justice. The group will be featured in the final part of this three-part series.