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Authors: Joseph Wambaugh
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students smoking dope in the parking lot? Are you going to do something about this or not?"
And Jay Smith sat back in his chair and folded his arms and slid his eyes onto her, and with a look of amusement said, "What do you want me to do with them, Ida? Kill them?"
The elder daughter of Jay Smith wrote a very troubled letter to a former boyfriend that winter, a letter that ended up in the hands of local police. In the letter, young Stephanie expressed an irrational fear of her father. She had come to believe that her father had somehow induced the rapid growing cancer in the stomach, intestines and lymph nodes of her mother. The terrified young woman concluded that perhaps her mothers illness had been induced through toxic substances in her food.
The letter said in part, "So much cancer in such a short period? No way. I'm afraid 111 kill myself if anything else happens!"
And then there occurred the strangest event of all in the legend of Dr. Jay Smith. Young Stephanie and her husband Eddie happened to stop at the home of his parents, Pete and Dorothy Hunsberger in North Wales. The Hunsbergers, like the Smiths, had suffered a lot because of the addiction of Eddie, their only child. Eddie was a handsome young fellow and an avid reader. His parents knew he had potential. The Hunsbergers had never stopped hoping that perhaps he could conquer the addiction, and Eddie seemed to be making some strides in rehabilitation this time. The reason he came to them that Saturday in February, 1978, was to complete his income tax return.
Their son customarily visited once a week. The last words that Dorothy Hunsberger ever heard him utter were "We'll be back a little later."
He and young Stephanie walked out the door and were never seen again. Except by Jay Smith.
After weeks of frantic inquiries, Dorothy Hunsberger told police that Eddie's father-in-law, Dr. Jay C. Smith, was the last person to see the couple.
Jay Smith had told Dorothy Hunsberger that the young people had suddenly decided to head out for California because Eddie discovered there was a warrant out for his arrest, a warrant for writing forged drug prescriptions.
"But I've checked with federal, state and local authorities!" Dorothy Hunsberger told police. "There aren't any warrants for Eddie."
The last message she ever got from Jay Smith regarding their children was given during a phone call near the end of that school term. He said, "Well, the lads are finally in California."
The last she ever heard on the subject from the wife of Jay Smith came in a terrifying phone call that she at first chalked up to delirium from cancer drugs.
The elder Stephanie said to Mrs. Hunsberger, "Oh, my
Cod, I hope Jay didn't do them in!"
* * ?
Ida Micucci thought her prayers had been answered. The school received word at the last faculty meeting of 1978 that Dr. Jay Smith was leaving the principals office for a position in the Upper Merion administration building. That's what they heard publicly. Privately, there were rumors that the district administrators had gotten wind of some of the shoplifting complaints that local merchants and police hadn't kept totally quiet.
At that last faculty meeting, Bill Bradfield arose and gave Dr. Smith a glowing testimonial. He spoke extemporaneously for five minutes. And he organized a retirement dinner.
While Sue Myers and Vince Valaitis and Susan Reinert and Ida Micucci and almost everybody else around the school were feeling relief, Bill Bradfield was comparing Jay Smith to Albert Schweitzer When Bill Bradfield got through, you'd think that Upper Merion's foremost expert on poodles in your waterbed was beloved. It was a reprise of Goodbye Mr. Chips.
One of the people ever so grateful to see him go was Pat Schnure, Susan Reinert's closest friend in the English department. Pat was tall and willowy with dark hair and turquoiseblue eyes. Bill Bradfield had once made a minor pass at her, but she was far too pretty for his efforts. When Pat had
And Jay Smith sat back in his chair and folded his arms and slid his eyes onto her, and with a look of amusement said, "What do you want me to do with them, Ida? Kill them?"
The elder daughter of Jay Smith wrote a very troubled letter to a former boyfriend that winter, a letter that ended up in the hands of local police. In the letter, young Stephanie expressed an irrational fear of her father. She had come to believe that her father had somehow induced the rapid growing cancer in the stomach, intestines and lymph nodes of her mother. The terrified young woman concluded that perhaps her mothers illness had been induced through toxic substances in her food.
The letter said in part, "So much cancer in such a short period? No way. I'm afraid 111 kill myself if anything else happens!"
And then there occurred the strangest event of all in the legend of Dr. Jay Smith. Young Stephanie and her husband Eddie happened to stop at the home of his parents, Pete and Dorothy Hunsberger in North Wales. The Hunsbergers, like the Smiths, had suffered a lot because of the addiction of Eddie, their only child. Eddie was a handsome young fellow and an avid reader. His parents knew he had potential. The Hunsbergers had never stopped hoping that perhaps he could conquer the addiction, and Eddie seemed to be making some strides in rehabilitation this time. The reason he came to them that Saturday in February, 1978, was to complete his income tax return.
Their son customarily visited once a week. The last words that Dorothy Hunsberger ever heard him utter were "We'll be back a little later."
He and young Stephanie walked out the door and were never seen again. Except by Jay Smith.
After weeks of frantic inquiries, Dorothy Hunsberger told police that Eddie's father-in-law, Dr. Jay C. Smith, was the last person to see the couple.
Jay Smith had told Dorothy Hunsberger that the young people had suddenly decided to head out for California because Eddie discovered there was a warrant out for his arrest, a warrant for writing forged drug prescriptions.
"But I've checked with federal, state and local authorities!" Dorothy Hunsberger told police. "There aren't any warrants for Eddie."
The last message she ever got from Jay Smith regarding their children was given during a phone call near the end of that school term. He said, "Well, the lads are finally in California."
The last she ever heard on the subject from the wife of Jay Smith came in a terrifying phone call that she at first chalked up to delirium from cancer drugs.
The elder Stephanie said to Mrs. Hunsberger, "Oh, my
Cod, I hope Jay didn't do them in!"
* * ?
Ida Micucci thought her prayers had been answered. The school received word at the last faculty meeting of 1978 that Dr. Jay Smith was leaving the principals office for a position in the Upper Merion administration building. That's what they heard publicly. Privately, there were rumors that the district administrators had gotten wind of some of the shoplifting complaints that local merchants and police hadn't kept totally quiet.
At that last faculty meeting, Bill Bradfield arose and gave Dr. Smith a glowing testimonial. He spoke extemporaneously for five minutes. And he organized a retirement dinner.
While Sue Myers and Vince Valaitis and Susan Reinert and Ida Micucci and almost everybody else around the school were feeling relief, Bill Bradfield was comparing Jay Smith to Albert Schweitzer When Bill Bradfield got through, you'd think that Upper Merion's foremost expert on poodles in your waterbed was beloved. It was a reprise of Goodbye Mr. Chips.
One of the people ever so grateful to see him go was Pat Schnure, Susan Reinert's closest friend in the English department. Pat was tall and willowy with dark hair and turquoiseblue eyes. Bill Bradfield had once made a minor pass at her, but she was far too pretty for his efforts. When Pat had
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