ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, January 29, 1996 TAG: 9601290110
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: NEWTOWN SQUARE, PA.
SOURCE: The New York Times
Saying he was cold and wanted to repair the boilers that heat his home, John E. du Pont walked out of his house Sunday after a 48-hour standoff and was arrested by SWAT team members, police said.
He was charged later with first-degree murder in the Friday slaying of former Olympic wrestling champion Dave Schultz and was ordered held without bail in a county jail. Delaware County District Attorney Patrick Meehan said he had not decided whether to seek the death penalty.
The boilers were shut off Friday night by police officers when they restored phone service to the house of du Pont, the 57-year-old chemical company heir and a wrestling benefactor. Du Pont apparently felt cold after a weekend of frigid temperatures and thought the boilers were broken, so he walked out of the house about 3 p.m. and headed toward a greenhouse, where a tunnel entrance leads to the heating system, police said.
When police realized du Pont was unarmed, they moved from the surrounding woods and walked toward him to make an arrest, Meehan said. When du Pont tried to run back to his house, he was tackled by a Newtown Township police officer and was apprehended without a shot being fired, Meehan said.
``I call that a very successful resolution,'' said Mike Mallon, police chief of Newtown Township.
Du Pont appeared haggard and did not say a word at an arraignment Sunday night. Handcuffed and dressed in a jogging suit, du Pont stood silently next to his attorney, Taras Wochok. He was transferred to jail in Thornton, Pa. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Thursday.
The arrest ended a tense, shocking weekend. Du Pont, one of Olympic-style wrestling's most ardent supporters, is accused of shooting to death one of the sport's most popular and successful stars, Schultz. As the standoff continued, wrestlers and coaches whom du Pont had supported described him as a man whose generous, philanthropic personality had unraveled beyond eccentricity into delusions and threatening behavior.
As the police closed off a four-lane highway adjacent to the 800-acre du Pont estate early Sunday afternoon and an arrest appeared imminent, the officers faced second-guessing from many in the community. Some critics said they had been too patient with du Pont because of his longtime support for local police. But after du Pont was placed in custody without injury to himself or any officers, police appeared to be more than satisfied that the patient way had been the most prudent.
``I'm not concerned about any criticism,'' said Lt. John Francis, who coordinated the police SWAT team efforts. ``This was a situation that required waiting and patience, rather than blazing guns.''
Du Pont is accused of shooting Schultz three times about 3 p.m. Friday. Schultz was training on the estate for the upcoming Summer Olympics in Atlanta.
Schultz, 36, who won an Olympic gold medal in 1984, lived on the estate with his wife, Nancy, and two children. He also coached the wrestling team du Pont founded and sponsored, Team Foxcatcher, which trained in a 14,000-square-foot, $600,000 center on the grounds of the estate.
The criminal complaint released Sunday by the police gave this account of the shooting: On Friday afternoon, Nancy Schultz was in her living room when she heard a gunshot. As she walked to the front door, she heard a second shot and opened the door, then saw her husband lying face down on the ground beside the family car.
According to the complaint, du Pont was sitting in the driver's seat of his Lincoln Town Car, had his hand extended out the window and was pointing a gun at Schultz. Du Pont fired a third shot and was screaming as Nancy Schultz went back inside to dial 911 from a portable phone. When she returned to the front porch, du Pont was still sitting in his car. He yelled at her and pointed a gun at her, and she ran back into the house, the criminal complaint said.
After she heard du Pont drive away, the complaint said, she returned to the front yard and found her husband lying motionless.
After du Pont's arrest, a bomb squad searched the house to make sure it did not contain any explosives before they searched for the weapon, which the police described as a .38-caliber revolver.
Police Lt. Lee Hunter said a previous police investigation had uncovered nothing to support a charge by a former Foxcatcher wrestler that du Pont had pointed an automatic rifle at his chest in October and ordered him off the estate.
LENGTH: Medium: 88 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: AP. John E. du Pont is escorted into the Newtown Square,by CNBPa., police station Sunday. SWAT team members arrested himwhen he
left his mome to fix the heating system, which police had disabled
Friday in an attempt to force him out after Olympic wrestling
champion Dave Schultz was shot and killed on du Pont's estate.
color.