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Shortly after 2 a.m. on May 8, Garland returned. The statement he subsequently gave to police, which has been presented at the trial, describes the tragedy in agonizing detail: "I knew my daughter was in there with Scott. I broke down the door to apartment 9 with my right shoulder. I was carrying a flashlight in my right hand. They were both nude. I pulled out my .38 revolver and struck Scott over the head with the gun as hard as I could. The weapon discharged, killing my daughter, who moaned and fell back. My wife screamed, 'You killed my baby!'
"I said it was an accident. After I knew my daughter was dead, I shot Scott in the head two or three times. I don't remember shooting a colored man named Greg, who was in a bed in the same room, but I remember thinking he probably had been taking turns with my daughter. I remember seeing blood on Greg.
"I put the .38 in my belt and pulled out the Luger and walked into the other room and shone the flashlight at Tony on the couch, and I shot him, I believe, through the forehead. I believe he was having intercourse with my daughter also. They all ruined my daughter." Garland then tried to find Donna Sue in one of the other apartments. Finally Martha Garland got him outside. The couple drove immediately to the police station.
No Escape. The charges are first-and second-degree murder. The defense does not question that Garland killed the four but contends that he went to Stonehead Manor with the intention of bringing his daughter home. When the gun accidentally discharged, Garland went berserk and shot the others. The plea is temporary insanity.
Horrible as it may be, Garland's crime is not without precedent, at least on the screen. Before the trial began, Judge Joseph A. Gillis saw the movie Joe, and was struck by the similarities. He strongly suggested that both prosecution and defense attorneys see the film, and during jury selection, he carefully questioned the jurors to exclude any who had seen it.
Garland's brown hair has turned mostly gray since last May, and his weight has dropped from 250 Ibs. to under 200. He has received electroshock therapy to relieve his despondency, but still he sits in court, head bowed, wiping his tears away with pink tissues. He is living at home during the trial, free on his own recognizance. No one fears that Arville Garland will try to escape.