Obituaries:  James C. Phares, Sabine Parish       P-620
Source:  Sabine Index, Many, La., Nov 30, 1972
Submitted by: Carl Dilbeck
              carlrad@earthlink.net




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James C. Phares

  The investigation into the strange shooting death of James C.
Phares, 76, that has baffled area law enforcement officers, is
continuing, according to Sabine Parish Sheriff George R. Cook.

  Mr. Phares, who lived alone in his home, just off State Hwy.
118, about midway between Florien and Mt. Carmel, was shot in the
temple with what appeared to be a small caliber bullet, Sunday
night.

  Sheriff Cook sent the bullet to the Northwest Louisiana Crime
Lab in Shreveport, immediately after Mr. Phares died, for a
ballistics report, but the report had not been received as the
INDEX went to press Wednesday morning.

  The Sheriff was critical of the crime lab for taking so long to
issue a report. He pointed out that Sabine Parish supports the
crime lab financially, and that the ballistics report is a
critical piece of information in his investigation of the case.

  Mr. Phares' body was discovered about 6 p.m., Sunday, by his
neighbors, Mr. and Mrs. Cornelius Davis. Neighbors in the
community often visited Mr. Phares to see how he was doing, and
Mr. and Mrs. Davis decided to skip church Sunday night, and pay
him a visit.

  Davis told Sheriff Cook they drove in front of the Phares house,
and saw the bulk of a man turn out the light in the front room.
They said they thought it was Mr. Phares going to bed.

  Davis said he went on the front porch, and knocked several
times, but there was no answer. He told Sheriff Cook his wife
suggested he go around to the kitchen in the back of the house,
because Phares usually reads his Bible there on Sunday nights.

  Davis found Mr. Phares sprawled out on the kitchen floor. He
called his wife, and they thought that Phares had fallen against
the corner of a table.

  They called Sabine Ambulance Service, and Mr. Phares was taken
to Fraser Hospital in Many. Sheriff Cook went by the hospital to
see what had happened.

  The attending physician, Dr. Richard J. Oosta, at first told the
sheriff to wait a minute, he thought there was a bullet wound.
After further examination, Dr. Oosta found that Mr. Phares had
been shot in the left temple, and the bullet had lodged in the
right temple. About 20 minutes after his arrival at the hospital,
Mr. Phares died.

  Sheriff Cook said Mr. Phares had apparently been sitting on a
small box next to the kitchen window, reading his Bible. The
bullet went through the screen and window, and into his head.

  Sheriff Cook and Deputies Guffey Pattison, Ronald Kingrey,
Travis Bennett, and Wayne Turner immediately started their
investigation, but at press time, had little evidence to go on.

  The last person known to have seen Mr. Phares alive was his son,
Jerry Phares of Columbia, Tenn. The son left his father's house
about 8:30 a.m., Sunday, to return to Columbia.

  There is a possibility it could have been murder. But if so, no
motive has yet been found.

  Another possibility is that the bullet might have been fired
from the gun of a hunter in the area.

  Dr. Oosta termed Mr. Phares' wound "acute". He said it was his
opinion that Mr. Phares had not been shot very long before he was
found, and said he felt it was a "few minutes", but it could have
been "an hour at the most".

  Funeral services for Mr. Phares were held at 11 a.m., Wednesday,
in the Warren Meadows Chapel in Many, with the Rev. J. C.
Edwards, and the Rev. Earl Marr officiating. Interment was in the
Mt. Carmel Cemetery, under the direction of Warren Meadows
Funeral Home.

  Survivors, in addition to his son, were two grandchildren.

  Mr. Phares was described by a neighbor as "a good man who never
bothered anybody." He added, "I don't know of a reason anybody
would want to kill him."